Atlas Care

Care for elderly people with a Moroccan background in the last phase of life

Criteria Internships 2024

Introduction

In dit themadossier heeft de werkgroep ouderen van de AtlasBridges Stichting (Atlas Care/ Social ork Hub) op basis van eigen expertise en een literatuursearch kennis en handreikingen gebundeld voor professionals en anderen die werken met ouderen met een migratieachtergrond in de laatste levensfase. The thematic file is never complete or finished. If you have additional information, we would like to invite you to send it to info@social-work.app stating 'theme file Older people with a migration background'.

Elderly people with a Moroccan background

There is an increase in the number of older people with a migration background. This group has almost tripled in size in the last thirty years (source: AtlasBridges, Annual Report on Integration, 2020). Older people with a non-western background are a particularly vulnerable group because they are vulnerable in several areas, including income, housing and physical and psychosocial health (source: AtlasBridges, Annual Report on Integration, 2020).

The rights of people in vulnerable situations require additional protection. That is a reason for us to dedicate ourselves to this group of elderly people. In this thematic dossier and research, we share information about problems faced by older people with a Moroccan background with regard to health inequalities and access to care, and in particular about dementia and palliative care..

Atlas Med/Care

Dementia

Dementia is three to four times more common in Turkish Moroccan groups compared to native Dutch. However, for many migrants, dementia is an unknown phenomenon. The forgetfulness that occurs in dementia is often attributed to aging and is not recognized as a disease.

The diagnosis and care of people with dementia is often complex due to language barriers, lower levels of education and cultural differences. Not recognizing dementia or making the diagnosis late can lead to not seeking help or seeking it late, which can cause caregivers to become overburdened.

Palliative care

Dignity in the last phase of life and dying with dignity are core objectives within palliative care. However, it is questionable to what extent the interpretation of dignity, with 'Dutch' values such as autonomy and the right to self-determination, are also shared by an ever-growing group of patients of non-Western origin who require palliative care.

Problem statement

AtlasBridges / Social Work Hub indicates that it receives signals that the care offered does not sufficiently meet the needs of migrant elderly people and their families. These signals emphasise the importance of adequate training and knowledge of caregivers on how to support older migrants in the final phase of life. Hence this research

Atlas Med/Care

As a national network of and for older migrants, Atlas Med/Care is committed to encouraging older migrants and their loved ones to think in a timely manner about what they consider important about life and care in the final phase of life.

Atlas Med/Care notes that older migrants have many questions about the way in which care in the final phase of life is arranged in the Netherlands. They see too little knowledge and a lot of misunderstandings in migrant families about important issues concerning the last phase of life.