Families and caring amongst older people in South Asian communities in the UK: a pilot study

Abstract

The increasing number of older people within Britain's and, more generally, Europe's ethnic minority communities raises the need for the development of health and social care services which are appropriate to the specific needs and expectations of these older members of the various ethnic minority communities. Within the UK, the Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities can be identified as being in greater need of care and support in older age. There is, however, comparatively little research that examines the family and caring relationships of these ethnic minority older people, particularly those who are not identified from contacts with statutory and/or voluntary agencies. Drawing on a small but diverse sample of 20 older Bangladeshi and Pakistani women and men aged 50 years and older, we explore our participants’ understandings and experiences of care and support within the context of their family lives and social networks. Our data from the 20 semi-structured pilot interviews suggest that, much like the trend within the general population, the family remains central in the provision of care and support for these ethnic minority older people. We conclude by considering the implications this has for social care policy and practice.

Keywords:

• Older People
• Family Care
• Bangladeshi
• Pakistani Elders

Acknowledgements

This study is funded by grant reference RES-352-25-0009A as part of the New Dynamics of Ageing Programme directed by Prof A. Walker. We wish to formally acknowledge the contribution of Dr Subrata Saha for her work on the project between October 2007 and February 2010 and who undertook the Bangladeshi interviews and six of the Pakistani interviews for the pilot study. Mrs S. Butt assisted with the translation of a number of these Pakistani interviews. We are grateful for the support and participation of our local communities and to all those who participated in the study.