Supporting healthy ageing in place amongst ethnic minority older adults : the case of the Turkish community in London

Abstract

An ageing population and international migration are two concurrent phenomena occurring at different levels of intensity in countries with various levels of development. The UK is no exception to this rule as a country with an ageing population of whom ethnic minorities are the fastest growing segment of the population. An ageing population has raised significant challenges in terms of how societies can best support older adults to live at home and in their communities i.e. healthy ageing in place. Although there has been considerable research conducted into the experiences of home and community in Western societies, research on the experiences of ethnic minority older adults is still in its infancy. It is estimated that there is a Turkish population of 500,000 in the UK and that this number is growing (‘British Turks’, 2020), yet they remain an ‘invisible minority’ and are under-represented in policy discourse (Enneli et al., 2005). This is particularly true for the older segment of the population whose needs in respect of healthy ageing have been less well understood. As a result, the experiences of older ethnic minority populations such as older Turkish people have been poorly integrated into interventions aimed at addressing the wellbeing of this group.

Bringing together the literature from migration and diaspora studies, gerontology and social care, this research examines experiences of healthy ageing in place amongst Turkish community in London based on qualitative case study approach. To collect the experiences of participants, 48 semi-structured individual interviews and 5 community mapping workshops with 65 older Turkish adults in London were undertaken exploring experiences of healthy ageing. This was supplemented by 13 interviews with professional service providers within the community aimed at understanding how healthy ageing has been addressed within existing service supports. The data collection was conducted between March and November 2017. A thematic analysis of the collected data was undertaken, identifying two main themes integral to understandings of healthy ageing: independence and social participation. Each theme revealed aspects of home and community important to healthy ageing including access to formal and informal care, housing and home, transport and outdoor spaces and barriers to navigating services and supports for the older Turkish community in London.

Recommendations are put forward to identity how healthy ageing can be better integrated into place-based supports for the older Turkish community which address both independence and participation in the lives of older Turkish adults and are sensitive to the ways in which old age is experienced within specific ethnic minority groups.