7 Diversity

[ SPOTLIGHT / TORONTO ]

Nazeefah Laher is a public health expert and the author of a Wellesley Institute report on the expanding ethnocultural diversity of seniors in Ontario’s home and community care system.

“Diversity is our strength and with it comes a responsibility to acknowledge the diverse needs of Canadians. Between 2006 and 2016, there was an 87 per cent increase in visible minority older adults in Canada and a 227 per cent increase in Toronto. Almost a quarter of older adults in Canada speak a non-official language, and language barriers make it difficult to access health and social services and can also affect their quality of care. Unmet language needs in our health-care system can result in poor communication between patients and health-care providers, which can lead to adverse outcomes such as medication errors, lack of compliance with medical recommendations and inappropriate medical testing.

“As we move into the next decade, there are ways in which we can invest in the needs of our aging population. We need targeted funding for programs and services for ethnically and linguistically diverse older adults. We need to invest in quality interpretation services and translated materials. We need the stories of older adults captured in the media and in research to reflect the diversity of Canada. This will allow for a more inclusive aging landscape.”

THE FUTURE

Research out of Laurentian University, published in 2017, was the first to look at aging in a nationally representative sample of First Nations seniors. Its findings are alarming: “First Nations frailty levels in the 45- to 54-year-old age group were similar to those for aged 65 to 74 in the general population.” As the authors note, this means there is a need for specialized services such as home care for First Nations people at an earlier age than the general population. The findings are no surprise. According to the United Nations’ Department of Economic and Social Affairs for Indigenous Peoples, from an early age, they “suffer from poorer health, are more likely to experience disability and reduced quality of life and ultimately die younger than their non-Indigenous counterparts.” It notes the gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people is 17 years in Canada, compared with 20 years in Nepal and Australia, 13 in Guatemala; 11 in New Zealand, 10 in Panama and six in Mexico.