Who speaks my language? Linguistic diversity among people living in Australian residential aged care facilities

© 2024 The Authors. Australasian Journal on Ageing published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of AJA Inc’..

OBJECTIVES: Australia's migration programs mean that an increasing number of people living in residential aged care (RAC) were born in a non-main English-speaking country (NMESC) and have a preferred language other than English (LOTE). This study describes the number of such residents in aged care facilities in Australia and discusses the implications for their care.

METHODS: This study presents a secondary analysis of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) National Aged Care Data Clearinghouse 2020-2021 to examine the country of birth and preferred language of people living in RAC in each state and territory and the number of residents who are lone speakers of their language in their facility.

RESULTS: Less than half (45 per cent) of the residents born in a NMESC had a preferred LOTE. Of those, 50 per cent spoke Italian, Greek or Cantonese. At least 60 other preferred languages were recorded, the majority with very few speakers. Australia-wide, more than one in five residents with a preferred top 20 LOTE are the lone speaker of their language in their facility. The proportion of lone speakers is highest in Tasmania, the ACT and Queensland.

CONCLUSIONS: Understanding the extent of language diversity, location and linguistic isolation of people living in RAC is essential for planning to ensure residents with a preferred LOTE receive high-quality, individualised care. There is a need for consistent and timely data collection about the diversity of aged care residents and workers in this sector.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2024

Erschienen:

2024

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - year:2024

Enthalten in:

Australasian journal on ageing - (2024) vom: 25. Jan.

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

O'Dwyer, Monica [VerfasserIn]
Porter, Tabitha [VerfasserIn]
Rittinghausen, Nikolaus [VerfasserIn]
Tribuzio, Lisa [VerfasserIn]
Polacsek, Meg [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

Communication barriers
Cultural diversity
Homes for the aged
Journal Article
Patient-centered care
Residential aged care facilities

Anmerkungen:

Date Revised 15.03.2024

published: Print-Electronic

Citation Status Publisher

doi:

10.1111/ajag.13275

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM367600692