Perceived inequalities in care and support for older women from Black and minority ethnic backgrounds in Wales: findings from a survey exploring dignity from service providers’ perspectives

ABSTRACT

Objective: As part of a large mixed-method study aimed at capturing understandings of dignity, and care expectations of community dwelling older women from Black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds living in Wales, the aim of this paper is to compare service providers’ perceptions of their care and support provided to older people in general, and to older women from BME backgrounds in particular, with a focus on two dignity indicators: care and support needs, and effective communication.

Design: A survey design was used.

Results: A total of 124 responses from service providers in Wales were received. Perceived inequalities in care and support were found. Although most respondents reported that care and support provision was generally acceptable, more respondents believed that compared to older people in general, older women from BME backgrounds were seldom or never offered opportunities and support to express their needs, were involved in their own care, were provided appropriate information, had their key needs especially less visible needs (psychological and religious needs) been taken into account, or were communicated with effectively (all p < 0.05). In some cases, respondents tended to report more positively in areas related to their own practice.

Conclusion: We suggest that learning from the views and perceptions of service providers, as well as older people and their families, remains key to developing services for the UK's increasingly diverse and ageing population. A better understanding of how inequalities may occur, their impact on older people and their families, and how they may be minimised can inform the development of high quality care for older people regardless of their ethnic and cultural backgrounds in Wales, other parts of the UK and beyond.

KEYWORDS:

• Community dwelling
• dignity
• ethnic minorities
• older people
• older women
• service provision

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Key Messages

1. There is some evidence of perceived inequalities in care and support service provision for older people, although the provision may be generally acceptable.

2. In some cases, respondents may perceive their own practice more satisfactorily.

3. There is a need for future research to explore whether inequalities actually occur, how they may occur, how they may impact older people, and how they may be minimised.

4. A better understanding of the views of service providers, as well as older people and their families, remains the key to future development of high quality services.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Institute for Social Care and Health Research, Wales [grant number SCRA1012].