Older people from an African, Caribbean, and South Asian heritage - their views on support, information and advice
In 2023, we worked with Age UK Sheffield to understand how organisations that support older people can make their services more accessible and culturally appropriate for a wider demographic across the city.
We wanted to make sure these findings could support a variety of organisations in Sheffield to develop their support, information and advice services. To do this we asked people about the resources and places they currently use for support, as well as the barriers they are experiencing, and what a good service would look like to them.
Key findings
The findings are based on semi-structured interviews and focus groups with 31 older people from African, Caribbean and South Asian heritage living in Sheffield.
- People spoke about the difficulties of finding appropriate health and social care services that would understand their needs.
- People from African, Caribbean, Asian and minoritised ethnic groups face additional barriers to accessing services - practical issues like lack of interpreters, and structural concerns around racism and lack of trust.
- A service that would work well for people should be culturally sensitive, use appropriate communication, and promote independence.
- Older people need more and better information about what is available to them, and want services to be based in the communities that they know
You can read more findings in the full report below. It also includes the recommendations we have made to services working with older people across Sheffield, to help them meet the needs of all communities.
Read the report
If you need this report in a different format, please email info@healthwatchsheffield.co.uk or call 0114 253 6688.
