Race Equality Foundation - Development

Quality of life and social support among people from different ethnic groups

(ESRC No. L480254037)

Background

As part of the Economic and Social Research Council's Growing Older programme we carried out a national study on the social and support networks of older people from a range of ethnic groups. The study was carried out by Jabeer Butt from the REU and Jo Moriarty of the Social Care Workforce Research Unit at Kings College, University of London, plus a team of interviewers.

What we did

We interviewed 203 men and women aged 55 and over, and we found that about half the people from minority ethnic groups said they had experienced racism - a figure which is likely to be an underestimate given evidence of a reluctance to speak about racism. By contrast, only those white people who were from a hidden minority, such as Welsh or Irish, or who had a black partner reported they had experienced racism.

Findings

Our study suggests that when assessing the quality of life of older people, their experience of racism needs to be taken into account.

We also found that across all ethnic groups, older people felt their relationships with their children and grandchildren were close. Although a small number of people from minority ethnic groups considered that their children were less willing to support their parents than they themselves had been, the majority emphasised that patterns of social support that may have been usual in their country of birth were not always possible in Britain today. The study also suggested that while many older people from minority ethnic groups visited their country of birth for holidays or family occasions, the great majority saw themselves as firmly established in their local communities. They had no intentions of leaving Britain permanently.

We have already presented findings, policy and practice to colleagues at Age Concern and, at the invitation of the Department of Health, to those developing and implementing the Single Assessment Process. We have been invited to deliver papers at the European Sociological Association Annual Conference in Murcia, Spain and to the Gerontological Society of America taking place in San Diego, USA. Various papers and a summary of findings have been published.

Details of the ESRC Growing Older programme can be found at www.esrc.ac.uk

Summary findings can be found at http://www.shef.ac.uk/uni/projects/gop/index.htm

For further information on this project contact Jabeer Butt on 020 7916 6229 or email jabeer@racefound.org.uk

Useful Race Equality Foundation publications

Respect: learning materials for social care staff working with black and minority ethnic older people by Jabeer Butt, Leandra Box and Suzanne Lyn-Cook

Click here to see all Race Equality Foundation publications.