The social support and service needs of Australia’s ageing Greek migrants: a literature review.

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a literature review undertaken to shape an emerging social research program on the service and support needs of Australia’s ageing Greek migrants. In late 2009 a narrative review was conducted of published and ‘grey’ literature to determine the scope of articles, with an emphasis on services and supports which help older people remain independent in the community. The search returned an extensive amount of international literature on ageing populations, but only a very small number of publications on the service use and needs of Australia’s older Greek population. Barriers to service use included low proficiency in English, lack of Greek-speaking service providers, low awareness of services available, and various cultural issues. The review also identified a lack of research carried out in the Greek language by researchers with a Greek background, which suggests that the views of older Greek migrants may be missing from much social research. We conclude that a sustained and culturally appropriate research effort conducted in the first language is needed and is essential if community-based services are to become more appropriate and accessible for the older members of Australia’s Greek communities