A Scoping Review of Aging Experiences Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse People in Australia: Toward Better Aging Policy and Cultural Well-Being for Migrant and Refugee Adults

Abstract

Background and Objectives Australia’s population is growing, ageing, and becoming more ethnically diverse, resulting in barriers and challenges around social inclusion for non-English speaking migrants and refugees. This scoping review investigates the experiences of ageing within Australia among older adults from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) migrant and refugee backgrounds to identify barriers to social integration. Research Design and Methods A scoping review of English-language literature and grey literature on the experiences of ageing among CALD migrant and refugees living in Australia was conducted from January 2000 to January 2021, according to Arksey and O’Malley’s review process. A total of 34 studies were identified for analysis. Results Three primary themes were identified: (i) socio-cultural similarities in settlement experiences; (ii) engagement with technology for social connection; and (iii) engagement with family and community networks. Discussion and Implications Ageing, language, socio-cultural and technology contexts shape attitudes to belonging, as well as access to sociomedical services. We argue a cultural well-being framework may assist in developing policy for improved social integration of older CALD adults. As the focus is on social and cultural experiences, all studies with a primary focus on medical and other chronic conditions were excluded. Future studies could include health related articles to present a more comprehensive approach regarding older CALD adult needs. Follow-up research could focus on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the experiences of older adults in Australia, in particular those of CALD backgrounds.

Exploring Social Determinants of Mental Health of Older Unforced Migrants: A Systematic Review

“…Consistent with the findings of Georgeou et al (2021) and Ma and Joshi (2021) , we also identified language barriers as a significant and ongoing challenge for older migrants, regardless of whether they are permanently settled or engaged in transnational migration. Notably, the degree of linguistic, cultural, and adaptation barriers may vary depending on the context, age, and gender of the migrant.…”

“…Individual-centric psychological perspectives have significantly influenced how mental health is conceptualized, practiced, and researched so far ( Georgeou et al, 2021 ). However, we observed that the mental health of these migrants is influenced by a combination of factors operating at individual, relational, and structural levels.…”

“…There is a need to recognize the diversity among older migrants in terms of their mental health outcomes associated with their migration context and experiences. These outcomes may vary depending on individual factors, such as motivation for migration, country of origin, whether they are reunifying with family, their socioeconomic status, education, and access to resources ( Georgeou et al, 2021 ; Ma & Joshi, 2021 ; Tang & Zolnikov, 2021 ; Wang & Lai, 2020 ). Despite the challenges faced by older migrants, there is relatively little academic research that specifically examines the factors influencing their mental health, unless they form part of larger study populations or are focused on politically exiled populations, people displaced by war, refugees, or asylum seekers.…”

Communication and engagement of community members from ethnic minorities during COVID-19: a scoping review

“…The methodology for this scoping review is based on Arksey and O’Malley’s14 four-stage frameworks, including (a) identifying the research questions, (b) identifying relevant studies, (c) selecting studies and (d) collating, summarising and reporting the results. This method has been used in recent publications focused on these target populations 15–17…”

Study protocol for a systematic review of the social determinants of mental health and well-being of older migrants aged 50 years and above

“…Migration later in life (circular or permanent) requires specific attention as adapting to an unfamiliar environment can be particularly stressful for the elderly (Jang et al, 2020). Review studies considering the intersection of aging and migration are either country-specific, focused on the general ageing experiences, migration from developed to developing countries, or the social impact of late-life migration (Georgeou et al, 2021, Tang & Zolnikov, 2021Maleku et al, 2021;Wang & Lai, 2020). The mental health impact of conflict-induced forced migration has also been studied extensively with a particular focus on refugees and asylum seekers (Virgincar et al, 2016).…”