Abstract
The progressive ageing of the population in many Western countries determines a growing need for long-term care for older people. At the same time, migrants and refugees, while experiencing mistrust, stigma and financial constraint, often suffer objective difficulties to enter the labour market, due to language, cultural differences, and lack of recognition of their qualification. Creating educational opportunities in elderly healthcare for migrants may help their social inclusion, increase their employability (so improving their quality of life) and respond to the increasing demand of care. The HERO Erasmus+ project moved in this direction by planning, designing and carrying out, in Cyprus, Greece, Italy and Portugal an original training curriculum, which included both face-to-face and online lessons on national language, healthcare terminology and procedures, local culture of care, communication strategies. The theoretical part was followed by an internship in healthcare facilities and an ad hoc online platform was developed for at distance learning. Ninety-nine migrants and refugees from Central and South Africa, South America and Middle-East were reached and 72 individuals attended the training and obtained the certification. A mixed-methods pre-post training assessment study was carried out. Semi-structured interviews and questionnaires were administered to trainees and focus-group were moderated with care managers and policy makers. The results call for tailored and practical trainings for migrants and refugees and shown the potential of learning activities for social inclusion. Four ideal-types of learning pathways in the elderly health care were drawn leading to specific recommendations for trainers, care providers and policy makers.
Presenters
Matteo FincoResearcher, Centre for Socio-Economic Research on Aging, INRCA, Italy Flavia Galassi
Psychologist and associate researcher, CRESI, INRCA - National Institute of Health and Science on Aging, Marche, Italy
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Ensuring Quality Long-Term Care
KEYWORDS
Elderly Care; Migrants; Refugees; Healthcare Education; Older people; Long-term care
