Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-c4f8m Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-18T21:09:24.677Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The sensitivity of United Kingdom health-care services to the diverse needs of Chinese-origin older people

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 December 2009

RUBY C. M. CHAU  and
SAM WAI-KAM YU
RUBY C. M. CHAU
Affiliation:
Social Work and Social Administration, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
SAM WAI-KAM YU*
Affiliation:
Social Work, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong.
*
Address for correspondence: Sam Wai-Kam Yu, Hong Kong Baptist University – Social Work, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong NIL. E-mail: samyu@hkbu.edu.hk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This paper is a contribution to the debate on how to make health-care services in the United Kingdom more responsive to the needs of older people who are members of recent immigrant groups. The focus is on the Chinese-origin elders, and the objective is to demonstrate their diverse migrant histories, cultural backgrounds and attitudes to both ‘traditional’ and Western health-care practices. The underlying argument is that if National Health Service staff had a better understanding of the diversity of Chinese older people, this would make an important contribution to making the service more sensitive to their needs. To develop this argument, this paper carries out three main analytical tasks. The first is to discuss the range of strategies adopted by Chinese people in general and Chinese older people in particular to improve their health. The second is to study Chinese people's heritage of exploring different methods to organise health in response to foreign culture. The third considers the ways in which the sensitivity of British health-care services to the needs of ethnic-minority groups can be improved, with a focus on the culturagram instrument and procedure. Three contrasting examples are presented.

Keywords

cultural diversitysensitivity of health-care servicesinclusionChinese-origin older people
Type
Articles
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 30 , Issue 3 , April 2010 , pp. 383 - 401
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Al-Krenawi, A. and Graham, J. R. 2000. Culturally-sensitive social work practice with Arab clients in mental health settings. Health and Social Work, 25, 1, 9–22.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) 2008. The Voices: Our Untold Stories – Chinese Stories. BBC, London. Available online at www.bbc.co.uk/gloucestershire/untold_stories/chinese/chinese_community.shtml [Accessed 8 June 2008].Google Scholar
Brownell, P. 1997. The application of the culturagram in cross-cultural practice with elder abuse victims. Journal of Elder Abuse and Neglect, 9, 2, 19–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cai, J. 1988. Integration of traditional Chinese medicine with Western medicine: right or wrong. Social Science and Medicine, 27, 5, 527–9.Google ScholarPubMed
Chan, W. T. 1963. A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey.Google Scholar
Chau, C. M. 2000. The welfare mix in socialist China: a case study of the occupational therapy stations in Guangzhou. Unpublished PhD thesis, Department of Sociological Studies, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.Google Scholar
Chau, C. M. 2007. The Involvement of Chinese Older People in Policy and Practice: Aspirations and Expectations. Joseph Rowntree Foundation, York, UK.Google Scholar
Chau, C. M. and Yu, W. K. 2000. Chinese older people in Britain: double attachment to double detachment. In Warnes, A. M., Warren, L. and Nolan, M. (eds), Care Services for Later Life: Transformation and Critiques. Jessica Kingsley, London, 259–72.Google Scholar
Chau, C. M. and Yu, W. K. 2001. Social exclusion of Chinese people in Britain. Critical Social Policy, 21, 1, 103–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chau, C. M. and Yu, W. K. 2004. The mixed economy of health: the health seeking behaviour of Chinese people in Britain. In Shaw, I. (ed.), The Definition and Construction of Health and Illness: European Perspectives. Ashgate, Aldershot, UK, 67–9.Google Scholar
Chau, C. M., Yu, W. K. and Cheung, P. W. 2002. Shared Expectations and Shared Commitment – Report on Chinese Older People Conference. Joseph Rowntree Foundation, York, UK.Google Scholar
Chen, K. and Hao, X. 2003. The integration of traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine. European Review, 11, 2, 225–35.Google Scholar
Chiu, W. S. 1991. The family care of Chinese old people: a study of the Chinese communities in London and Hong Kong. Unpublished PhD thesis, Department of Sociological Studies, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.Google Scholar
Chiu, W. S. and Yu, W. K. 2001. An excess of culture: social care for Chinese older people in Britain. Ageing & Society, 21, 6, 681–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chung, D. and Haynes, A. 1993. Confucian welfare philosophy and social change technology: an integrated approach for international social development. International Social Work, 36, 1, 37–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Congress, E. 1994. The use of culturagrams to assess and empower culturally diverse families. Families in Society, 75, 9, 531–8.Google Scholar
Congress, E. 1997. Using the culturagram to assess and empower culturally diverse families. In Congress, E. (ed.), Multicultural Perspectives in Working with Families. Springer Publishing Company, New York, 3–16.Google Scholar
Congress, E. 2004. Cultural and ethical issues in working with culturally diverse patients and their families. Social Work in Health Care, 39, 3, 249–62.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Congress, E. and Brownell, P. 2007. Application of the culturagram with culturally and ethnically diverse battered women. In Roberts, A. R. (ed.), Battered Women and Their Families. Third edition, Springer Publishing Company, New York, 387–404.Google Scholar
Congress, E. and Kung, W. 2005. Using the culturagram to assess and empower culturally diverse families. In Congress, E. and Gonzalez, M. (eds), Multicultural Perspectives in Working with Families. Springer Publishing Company, New York, 3–21.Google Scholar
Congress, E. and Lyons, B. 1992. Cultural differences in health beliefs: implications for social work practice in health care settings. Social Work in Health Care, 17, 3, 81–95.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cox, C. B. and Ephross, P. H. 1998. Ethnicity and Social Work Practice. Oxford University Press, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
de Bary, T. W. M. and Bloom, I. (eds)1999. Sources of Chinese Tradition. Volume 1, Introduction to Asian Civilizations. Columbia University Press, New York.Google Scholar
Devore, W. and Schlesinger, E. G. 1999. Ethnic-sensitive Social Work Practice. Allyn and Bacon, Boston, Massachusetts.Google Scholar
Eno, R. 1990. The Confucian Creation of Heaven: Philosophy and the Defense of Ritual Mastery. State University of New York Press, Albany, New York.Google Scholar
Fan, R. P. 2003. Modern western science as a standard for traditional Chinese medicine: a critical appraisal. Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics, 31, 2, 213–21.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gervais, M.-C. and Jovchelovtich, S. 1998. The Health Beliefs of the Chinese Community in England: A Qualitative Research Study. Health Education Authority, London.Google Scholar
Gilligan, P. and Furness, S. 2006. The role of religion and spirituality in social work practice: views and experiences of social workers and students. British Journal of Social Work, 36, 4, 617–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Green, G., Bradby, H., Chan, A., Lee, M. and Eldridge, K. 2002. Is the English National Health Service meeting the needs of mentally-distressed Chinese women? Journal of Health Service Research and Policy, 7, 4, 216–21.Google Scholar
He, Z., Bu, J., Tang, Y. and Sun, K. 1991. An Intellectual History of China. Foreign Languages Press, Beijing.Google Scholar
Hillier, S. M. and Jewell, J. A. 1983. Health Care and Traditional Medicine in China, 1800–1982. Routledge and Kegan Paul, London.Google Scholar
Home Affairs Committee 1985. The Chinese Community in Britain. Second report, Home Affairs Committee, Session 1984–5, 1, Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO), London.Google Scholar
Home Office 1985. The Government Reply to the Second Report from the Home Affairs Committee, Session 1984–5. HMSO, London.Google Scholar
Hung, P. 2001. Traditional Chinese customs and practices for the postnatal care of Chinese mothers. Complementary Therapies in Nursing and Midwifery, 7, 4, 202–6.Google Scholar
Jones, D. 1979. The Chinese in Britain: origins and development of a community. New Community, 7, 3, 397–402.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kropf, N. and Isaac, A. 1996. Culturally diverse social work practice: an overview. In Harrison, D., Thyer, B. and Wodarski, J. (eds), Cultural Diversity and Social Work Practice. Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, Illinois, 3–13.Google Scholar
Li, Z. G. 1997. Mengzi de zhi hui [Menziu's Wisdom]. Hebei ren min chu ban she [Hebei People's Publisher], Shijiazhuang shi, China.Google Scholar
Liang, C. 1996. The Great Thoughts of China: 3,000 Years of Wisdom that Shaped a Civilization. Wiley, New York.Google Scholar
Liao, X. H. and McIlwaine, G. 1995. The health status and health needs of the Chinese population in Glasgow. Scottish Medical Journal, 40, 3, 77–80.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Manning, M., Cornelius, L. and Okundaye, J. 2004. Empowering African Americans through social work practice: integrating an afrocentric perspective, ego psychology, and spirituality. Families in Society, 85, 2, 229–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
National Audit Office 2004. Delivering Public Services to a Diverse Society. Stationery Office, London.Google Scholar
Payne, M. 2005. Modern Social Work Theory. Palgrave Macmillan, New York.Google Scholar
Schiele, J. 2000. Human Services and the Afrocentric Paradigm. Haworth, New York.Google Scholar
Torres, S. 2006. Elderly immigrants in Sweden: ‘otherness’ under construction. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 32, 8, 1341–58.Google Scholar
Torsch, V. and Ma, G. X. 2000. Cross-cultural comparison of health perceptions, concerns, and coping strategies among Asian and Pacific Islander American elders. Qualitative Health Research, 10, 4, 471–89.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tran, L. 2006. Health Needs of the Chinese in Shropshire County and Telford and Wrekin. Chinese National Healthy Living Centre, Shrewsbury, UK. Available online at http://www.cnhlc.org.uk/pdf/Shropshire_HNA.pdf [Accessed 15 July 2007].Google Scholar
Wang, Z., Chen, P. and Xie, P. 1999. History and Development of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Science Press, Beijing.Google Scholar
Warnes, A. M. 1996. The age structure and ageing of the ethnic groups. In Coleman, D. C. and Salt, J. (eds), Demographic Characteristics of the Ethnic Minority Populations. Volume 1, Ethnicity in the 1991 Census. HMSO, London, 151–77.Google Scholar
Watson, J. 1977. The Chinese: Hong Kong villagers in the British catering trade. In Watson, J. (ed.), Between Two Cultures: Migrant and Minorities in Britain. Blackwell, Oxford, 191–213.Google Scholar
White, M., Harland, J., Bhopal, R. S., Unwin, N. and Alberti, K. 2001. Smoking and alcohol consumption in a UK Chinese population. Public Health, 115, 62–9.Google Scholar
Wong, M. 2006. Chinese in Burton and Southeast Staffordshire: a baseline community needs assessment. Chinese National Healthy Living Centre, Burton, UK. Available online at http://www.cnhlc.org.uk/pdf/Burton_CNA.pdf [Accessed 6 August 2007].Google Scholar
Wong, K. C. and Wu, L. T. 1936. History of Chinese Medicine. National Quarantine Service, Shanghai, China.Google Scholar
Yip, K. S. 2005. Taoistic concepts of mental health: implications for social work practice with Chinese communities. Families in Society, 86, 1, 35–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yu, W. K. 2000. Chinese Older People: A Need for Social Inclusion in Two Communities. Policy, Bristol, UK.Google Scholar
Zhang, Q. 1993. ‘Zi zhi tong jian’ yu Zhongguo zheng zhi wen hua [Ruling Experiences and Chinese Culture]. Zhongguo guang bo dian shi chu ban she, Beijing.Google Scholar