MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA (THE AGE), June 13, 2005:
Antoinette Miach is an active member of Melbourne's ageing ethnic population.
At 84, she enjoys a busy social life, which includes learning French and catching up with her fellow Italians every Tuesday.
"It's good for us. We chat, we play bingo, go on tours," she said.
While Mrs Miach is still capable of caring for herself, aged-care facilities are becoming home to a rapidly growing number of elderly people from ethnic backgrounds, according to Professor Olga Kanitsaki from RMIT University.
Professor Kanitsaki warns it is "critical" that the needs of this growing population are met. "There will be accidents, the wrong treatments, the wrong decisions, and there will be legal implications and moral implications which will be enormous," she said.
The number of Australians aged 65 and over from non-English-speaking backgrounds is expected to increase by 66 per cent in the next 20 years, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. In Victoria, migrants are expected to make up one in three of the state's older residents by 2011.
Professor Kanitsaki said the statistics reflected the ageing of those who came to Australia in the first wave of postwar migration.
Living in a home where staff speak their language can be vital for the health and wellbeing of the elderly, says Dr Susannah Runci, from Monash University's Aged Mental Health Research Centre.
Her research has shown elderly Italian dementia patients are calmer and less likely to be prescribed tranquillisers if they live in a nursing home where staff and other residents speak their language.
Dr Runci said being unable to communicate could be extremely distressing for older people. "I imagine nurses getting someone undressed for bed, trying to take their clothes off, could be such a frightening and confusing situation (for non-English-speaking patients)," she said.
While there are Italian, Greek, Chinese and Dutch-specific nursing homes in Victoria, finding staff with specific language skills can be difficult, according to Greg Mundy, chief executive of Aged and Community Services Australia.
By Liz Gooch Social Affairs Reporter
THE AGE
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