The importance of culturally aware home care

Older migrants, especially those who don’t speak English, often face significant barriers to accessing home care in Australia.

Currently, one in three Australians aged 65 and over were born overseas, most of them in a non-English speaking country. Due to language barriers, many of them rely on peers or community groups to find out about government aged care services. If they don’t have these informal pathways available to them, they risk missing out on receiving much-needed support.

This significantly impacts the person’s ability to live at home, leading to premature admission to residential care, and detrimental impacts on their health and wellbeing.

Earlier this year, the Aged Care Royal Commission’s final report shone a light on the lack of support for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) seniors in Australia. “The need to communicate in a language other than English can be an insurmountable barrier to accessing and using the aged care system,” wrote the commissioners.

“Many people who come from diverse backgrounds and have had varied life experiences have problems accessing aged care services that meet their particular needs.”

Addressing the gap with culturally aware care

The HomeCaring Group is addressing this significant gap by providing services that empower people from CALD backgrounds to be active consumers in their care.

Alongside providing a full range of care services, the provider supports clients by helping them navigate the complexities of government home care – in their own language.

If a client requires an accredited interpreter to access aged care services, they must often fund the cost themselves, or through their home care package. Availability can also be an issue, making it difficult for clients to be fully in control of their care.

HomeCaring helps address this problem by pairing CALD clients with case managers and care workers who are from the same cultural community as them.

An advocate for CALD clients

One example is 90-year-old Que, who was born in Vietnam, and his HomeCaring case manager, Lizzie Nguyen. With her English and Vietnamese language skills, Lizzie was able to explain the home care system to Que and and his wife Mich, and advocate for them throughout the assessment process. “Because they can’t speak English, they needed someone who understood the government home care package program, and could advocate for them as a client,” said Lizzie.

“We explained how a package could help Que, went through all the assessments with them, and followed everything up so nothing fell through the cracks,” she says. “Together, we were able to secure a Level 1 Home Care Package. This meant Que could finally get the support he needs.”

On top of supporting clients through the assessment process, HomeCaring also provides consumer-directed home care that nurtures each client’s cultural identity.

Currently, the company provides care to 15 linguistically diverse communities that call Australia home. According to Chief Operating Officer Michaela Brown, culturally aware care isn’t just lip service, but a value that is deeply embedded at the provider’s core.

“Most of our carers come from the local community where they work. They understand the client’s ethnic background, which puts them in the best position to deliver culturally appropriate care,” she said.

On the ground-level, this takes a variety of forms: care workers who speak a client’s language, understanding family dynamics; flexible care plans that incorporate cultural preferences without question, connections with community groups that provide culturally specific support; engaging in cultural celebrations.

If home care services are to be truly consumer-directed, then all clients must feel empowered to make decisions about their future – including those from diverse backgrounds. “This is what drives HomeCaring,” said Michaela. “We provide services with compassion, empathy, passion and respect for all.”

To find out more about HomeCaring’s range of home care services – including dementia care, palliative care, respite care, disability care and more – visit homecaring.com.au