Steps to meeting the need of culturally diverse residents and staff

Australia is a country that prides itself on welcoming all people, regardless of who they are and where they come from.

Migrants are the reason we have such a huge variety of cultures and customs woven into the fabric of our country’s identity, and ensuring those cultures are respected should be a top priority for workplaces when dealing with culturally or linguistically diverse (CALD) clients and staff. 

The CALD community comprises a huge amount of the Australian population, with every 1 in 3 people aged over 65 years being born overseas in a non-English speaking country.

Older people with diverse needs, characteristics and life experiences may have experienced exclusion, discrimination and stigma during their lives and can face barriers when accessing aged care like having information available in their preferred language and being involved in their care outcomes.

There are a few steps you can take to create an inclusive environment to ensure you support CALD residents and staff properly.

Step 1 – Understand the needs of CALD people

Chief Executive Officer of the Chung Wah Association Community and Aged Care, Theresa Kwok, personally felt the anxiety a migrant often feels in a new country when she came to Australia from Hong Kong. 

As a trained social worker, she understood that caring for members of the CALD community can be quite complex and depends heavily on when they migrate. 

“A big portion of our clients migrate in the later part of their life and haven’t experienced other cultures, which can be quite a culture shock in terms of daily life, customs, food and preferences,” Ms Kwok explained.

“About 7% of migrants come here in the later part of their life and will require particular support and attention.” 

These struggles extend to workers who may begin working in the aged care sector once they have moved here.

They may not feel confident enough in their language skills to speak up about issues they may have, their feelings, or experiences. 

These barriers can see someone become isolated from their community and fellow workers, feel unwelcomed, and fearful of experiencing racism.

“Migrant clients and workers share a lot of common experiences and mainly need to feel like they belong,” said Ms Kwok.

“We need to make them feel like Australia is their second home and that they are cared for like family. 

“Our slogan amongst staff is ‘building a better community for all’ so we strive to achieve this both for clients and staff.”

About 95% of the Chung Wah’s clientele are migrants and don’t speak any English, so it is often hard for them to stay engaged in what is happening in their community, a common aspect Ms Kwok believes providers should be aware of so they can establish adequate sensitivity training for care staff. 

“[Not speaking English] can impact their daily lives as they can’t talk or share their stories with others,” she said.

“Even simple things like making a call to make a doctor’s appointment – the General Practitioner (GP) may speak their language, but the reception staff may not and they need to jump those hurdles to access basic things. 

“As providers, we need to be aware of these things.” 

Step 2 – Welcoming everyone

Spaces that are welcoming to CALD people, no matter if they are clients and staff, can make a world of difference.

It can improve satisfaction and feedback from consumers, and result in increased employee engagement and efficiency from staff – as well as creating a safe and culturally sensitive workplace.

In order to make residents and staff feel welcomed, the Chung Wah Association makes a point of rallying clients and staff for key celebration events or days of cultural significance to pay respect to the culture, but also offers a chance for all to network and feel less alone. 

They also produce news content in their newsletters and the local newspaper in multiple languages so CALD clients can be informed on what is happening in their community and know where to go if they need help accessing services.

The Australian Government is now offering free translation services to help aged care providers communicate with older people in their preferred language, and you can access their eligibility checklist to see if you qualify. 

To help make your organisation more accommodating to CALD clients, consider:

• Proving them with information on their care, including when and how they can access an interpreter, that can be translated into their preferred language where required
• Displaying signs in your facilities in different languages to help residents navigate the space
• Helping them local community organisations that can offer support, information and advocacy
• Ensuring their cultural, linguistic, spiritual, religious and social needs are included in their care plan
• Allowing them to stay connected with their culture or background by having media materials available like magazines, television channels and books
• Assisting them in being active in their religion
• Arranging activities that celebrate cultural or religious festivals or important dates of relevance to your clients
• Connecting them with family, friends and community who live far away through technology like Facetime and Skype
• Using assessment tools that accommodate and consider their cultural and linguistic background
• Sharing your strategic plan, diversity policy and other resources used by staff to assist them in providing culturally appropriate care and offering assistance on how to lodge feedback or complaints

Step 3 – Have an “anti-racism” approach

While it is important as a provider to ensure clients’ needs are met, it is equally important to extend that attention to your pool of staff.

Research shows that the more inclusive workplaces are, the better they are for employees, employers and clients in terms of performance, wellbeing and satisfaction. 

The Inclusion@Work Index shows staff who work for inclusive workplaces are:

• Five times less likely to experience discrimination and/or harassment
• Four times less likely to leave their job in the next 12 months
• Ten times more likely to be satisfied in their job
• 11 times more likely to be highly effective than those in non-inclusive teams
• Four times more likely to work harder

However, Diversity Council Australia’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Lisa Annese, said CALD staff are much more likely to experience racism at work.

Diversity Council Australia’s recent research looked at racism in the workplace and what can be done about it, highlighting the need for an active “anti-racism” approach to eradicating this type of discrimination.

Some ways to combat racism in your organisations include:

• Understanding and taking action to prevent racism in the workplace through a robust diversity and inclusion initiative to build and measure your progress in this space 
• Invest in staff training to ensure they understand these initiatives and can implement them on the ground
• Consult the Aged Care Diversity Framework which sets out universal actions for all providers to take to make sure their services and workplace meet the needs of CALD people

Step 4 – Embrace collaboration

Whilst the Government provides resources and supports, teamwork with other providers can also lessen a heavy load – a load some providers may feel pressure to move alone, especially if they have limited resources and finances to implement great change.

On a grassroots level, Ms Kwok said providers should band together and create a united approach on inclusion and diversity to ensure everyone is at the same standard and can lean on each other as the sector evolves and higher standards are implemented.

From a providers’ perspective, she believes there are some basics that can be done to foster a bigger support network among themselves:

• Ensure staff are sensitive to the needs of CALD older people accessing their services

• Reach out to the community cultural groups of CALD older people accessing their services to gain knowledge of how to best assist their needs
• Network with other providers to create a solid cultural inclusion strategy, training model and allow for residents or clients of other aged care providers to mingle with each other and celebrate key dates with other CALD staff and clients

Where to turn for help

If you are looking to improve your organisation to better accommodate CALD clients and workers, there are some resources you can turn to.

The Aged Care Diversity Framework provides some action plans and  outlines common reasons why some CALD people cannot access the aged care they need and how providers can help remove those barriers.

It also upholds the rights of CALD people who are protected under a range of legislation in Australia.

The PICAC Alliance is another place you can go for help to provide appropriate care to CALD clients. 

They offer information, training and resources to inform aged and community care services in providing inclusive care and ensuring CALD clients are cared for appropriately.

Similarly, Multicultural Aged Care is another advocate that offers professional development training and a library of resources to strengthen and support groups in their operations and delivery of aged care services at a community and government level.

It is a human right for clients and staff to have their culture respected, especially if they have emigrated to Australia for better opportunities.

Ensuring people of CALD backgrounds feel welcomed and appreciated will lead to a more positive and engaged workforce overall, while those accessing aged care services will feel they are being looked after adequately and experience a better quality of life.

In what ways does your organisation promote and encourage cultural diversity? Tell us in the comments below.