Reaching out to Minority Caregivers

1
Reaching out to Minority Caregivers

• Monica James
• Senior/Caregiver Program
• Harris County Hospital District

2
Minority Caregivers

• How to reach out to Chinese, African American,
  and Hispanic communities?
• What worked?
• Obstacles, What didnt worked?
• Recommendations?

3
Chinese Caregivers

• Strong family bond is a cultural expectation,
  there is sometimes no word associated with
  'caregiver' in the language. Chinese caregivers
  might feel guilty by looking for personal help
  because they don't feel they have a right to be
  stressed.
• Culturally, they tend to value privacy and are
  often hesitant to seek services so building trust
  is essential.
• Traditional Chinese values dictate that the
  dedicated caregivers for elders are their oldest
  son and his wife or other children if the eldest
  son is not available. When a daughter marries,
  she becomes responsible for the care of her
  in-laws. She is no longer considered part of the
  family caregiver network for her family of
  origin.

4
Outreach to the Chinese Community What worked?

• Identify language spoken the two Chinese
  language most commonly spoken are Cantonese and
  Mandarin.
• Develop collaborations with highly regarded,
  existing Asian community agencies to improve your
  credibility with caregivers and their families.
• Use Asian media (Asian newspapers, television and
  radio stations) to publicize the availability of
  Chinese friendly services.

5
Challenges in Reaching out to African Americans
Caregivers

• KNOWLEDGE AA caregivers maybe less
  knowledgeable about the full array of available
  formal care services.
• MISTRUST Dissatisfaction with formal care
  systems may be one of the factors that promotes
  the continued use of informal caregivers and
  alternative health care providers
• Churches Rely on assistance from black churches
  before using services from other formal
  organizations

6
The African American Caregiver Community What
worked?

• Direct contact from other local community-based
  programs and colleagues.
• Mailing and posting announcements
• Television and radio announcements
• Issuing press release and contacting feature
  writers of local newspapers
• Provide incentives
• Community- and faith-based organizations
• Churches
• Senior Centers
• Community partnerships
• Area Agency on Aging
• African American Health Coalition
• Fraternities and Sororities
• Local Universities
• Other local organizations
• African American Business

7
Outreach to the Hispanic Caregivers What worked?

• Collaborated with other local community-based
  programs and colleagues that serve the Hispanic
  Community.
• Mailing and posting announcements in varies
  languages
• Television and radio announcements
• Issuing press release and contacting feature
  writers of local newspapers
• Provide incentives
• Educational materials and resource list in both
  Spanish and English
• Partnering with local Hispanic businesses

8
The Minority Caregiver What worked?

• Flexible
• You want to schedule service offering when it is
  convenient for the caregiver.
• Offer respite care for care recipients.
• Utilize local churches, community centers,
  schools and local business.
• Coordinate services with other local community
  events.
• Advertise interpreter availability
• Offer incentives