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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Ethnic influence on health and dependency of elderly inner city residents | | Author(s) | A E S Ritch, M Ehtisham, S Guthrie |
| Journal title | Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of London, vol 30, no 3, May/June 1996 |
| Pages | pp 215-220 |
| Keywords | Ethnic groups ; Social characteristics [elderly] ; Ill health ; Needs [elderly] ; General practice ; Usage [services] ; Living in the community ; Urban areas ; Social surveys ; Birmingham. |
| Annotation | This study of people aged 65 and over living at home and selected from registers of general practices in west Birmingham assessed and compared their social characteristics, prevalence of disease, health needs, dependency, and use of health services. Respondents were divided by place of birth: UK, Asia, West Indies, or 'other'. Those born in the UK were likely to be older, female, unmarried and living alone. In the Asian group, only 15% spoke English, and 59% lived in a household with more than three other people, compared with 4% in the UK and West Indian groups. Hypertension was more common in West Indians, arthritis in Asians and diabetes mellitus more common in both groups than the UK group. Asians were more likely to complain of poor vision. The level of dependency was similar in all groups despite age differences. Contact with community health services was low among Asians, who were also less aware of services. The average age of those in the ethnic groups is less than in the indigenous population. The language communication barriers - particularly for older Asians - suggest that access to health care needs to be developed in a more culturally sensitive manner. |
| Accession Number | CPA-980107201 A |
| Classmark | TK: F: CH: IK: L5: QLD: K4: RK: 3F: 87E * |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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