| Carers Research Project Report Supporting CALD Carers The service needs of culturally and linguistically diverse carers
of people with disabilities Ethnic Disability Advocacy Centre Ph: (08) 9388 7455 Email: admin@edac.org.au
Background
Project objectives Literature Review
·
Western Australian
Research
·
Rural and Regional Areas Disability Statistics and utilisation of services
·
·
Centrelink Benefits
Legislative Obligation, Policy and Practice
·
Multicultural Policy and Government Services
·
Disability Services and People with Disabilities from CALD backgrounds
Introduction
Participating communities and process
Confidentiality
Definitions
·
Disability
·
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) Limitations of this study
Chapter
3 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION Profile
of CALD Carers and issues
·
CALD Carers of
elderly persons with disability
·
CALD Carers of
children with disability Cultural
perspective of caring
Emotional
responses to caring
·
Vulnerability
·
Stress
·
Stigma
·
Isolation
·
Positive experience
of caring
·
Language
·
Information
·
Individualised
co-ordination of ongoing support
·
Carer support
groups
·
Flexibility of
services
·
Respite care Service Providers’ Issues
·
Policy
·
Difficulties
faced by service providers
·
Respite services
and institutional care
·
Cultural and
disability awareness
People Born Overseas (OMI)
Useful Multicultural contacts
Service Providers involved in Consultations CALD Carers Interview Question
LISI OF TABLES AND
FIGURES Table 1: Centrelink benefits
Table 2: Carers by region
and ethnicity
Table 3: Total number of service providers by region The Ethnic Disability Advocacy Centre wishes to express its gratitude to the many people and organisations who contributed their invaluable information, skills and expertise to this project. It would also like to acknowledge the Disability Services Commission for providing the funding which enabled this report to be undertaken. The paper was researched and written by Eversely Ruth and Harry Picket with support from the staff of EDAC: Jenny Au Yeong, Fiona Pui San Whittaker, Luba MacMaugh, Jasbir Mann and Veronica Fitzgerald. Their contributions were very much appreciated. Duc Dau kindly read and commented on drafts. Members of the Steering Committee met at regular intervals to provide guidance and input. They included Dr Anne Atkinson (Chair), Jenny Au Yeong (EO, EDAC), Thankam Abraham (Carer) and David Colvin (LAC, DSC). The Multicultural Carer’s Support Group gave freely of their personal
experiences and advice which helped to shape the report. The contributions
of bi-cultural workers who worked alongside the researchers are also
very much appreciated. These workers included Raqiya Hassan Ali (Somali
Community), Maimunah Mosli (Muslim Women’s Support Group). Anna
Harrison (Polish Centre) and Sister Thai ( EDAC is particularly grateful to all those carers and service providers who participated in the project and shared their stories. Without them, this report would not exist. Thank you. ABS Australian
Bureau of Statistics ACAT Aged
Care Assessment Team ADEC Action on Disability within Ethnic
Communities, Victoria AIHW Australian Institute of Health
and Welfare CALD Culturally and Linguistically
Diverse CSDA Commonwealth/State
Disability Agreement DIMIA Department of Immigration, Multicultural
and Indigenous Affairs DSC Disability
Services Commission EDAC Ethnic Disability Advocacy Centre ECDN Ethnic Communities Disability Network,
ESB English
Speaking Background HACC Home and
Community Care HREOC Human Rights and Equal Opportunity
Commission MALSSA Multicultural Advocacy and Liaison Service
of SA MDAA Multicultural
Disability Advocacy Association, NSW NESB Non-English Speaking Background NEDA National Ethnic Disability (members are MALSSA, MDAA, EDAC and ECDN) OMI Office of Multicultural Interests OSB Overseas Born TIS Translation and Interpreting Service This research was funded by the Disability Services Commission (DSC),
and was conducted by the Ethnic Disability Advocacy Centre (EDAC), By means of focus groups and individual interviews, the project consulted
culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) carers of people with disabilities.
The project provides an insight into their views regarding barriers
to service access and presents their suggestions on overcoming them.
Their insights and suggestions were supplemented with those of service
providers. Carers consistently conceptualised their concerns and suggestions
within a critique of the current service model for CALD people with
disabilities. Outcomes suggest the need to revise disability and aged care policies, practices and priorities to make more explicit the service
needs of CALD carers. Moreover,
there is a need for more effective data collection to enable
better planning of programs and allocation of resources.
Outcomes also called for greater prioritisation of resources
to ethnic communities to address issues for CALD carers and the
people they are caring for. Areas for collaborative development include appropriate information
for CALD carers and communities on disability benefits and services,
as well as a holistic and coordinated approach to services for consumers.
This development relies on the enhanced flexibility of services,
as well as networking between CALD community agencies, the Disability
Services Commission and other
service providers. The recommendations of the project should assist a revision of government
and non-government policies to implement more culturally appropriate
strategies in disability services. The project should also assist in
establishing disability support for CALD communities in consultation
with carers. This report provides an overview of the experiences and suggestions
of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) carers of people with
disabilities regarding their access to health, aged care and disability
services in WA. It also provides
secondary viewpoints of service providers on the issues and difficulties
faced by CALD consumers. Sixty-six (66) CALD Carers and thirty-seven
(37) service providers took part in this study, in the form of focus
groups and personal interviews. The report is divided into 4 chapters: introduction, methodology,
findings and discussion, recommendations and conclusion. In addition there are several tables exploring
quantitative data and frameworks for integrated, culturally appropriate
service provision. |