Organization and perception of low threshold services for older migrants in communities. Chances for social participation in the context of voluntary engagement

• Published in: Zeitschrift für Gerontologie und Geriatrie 2015-07, Vol.48 (5), p.426-433
• Main Authors: Schäfer, G, Brinkmann, D, Freericks, R, Kart, M
• Format: Article
• Language: ger
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aging - psychology; Attitude to Health; Community Health Services; Female; Germany; Health Literacy; Humans; Male; Social Isolation - psychology; Social Participation - psychology; Transients and Migrants - psychology; Volition
• ISSN: 1435-1269
• DOI: 10.1007/s00391-015-0913-0

There is still a problematic situation in Germany for older migrants, who can be characterized by poverty, lack of knowledge of the healthcare system, generation conflicts and social exclusion. The objective of this article is the analysis of the chances for social participation of older migrants from two perspectives. This qualitative study is based on an interdisciplinary research project sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research entitled "Cultures of social participation in local communities" (KUSTIS) from the promotion program "Social innovations for quality of life in old age " (SILQUA) and presents selected results from two subprojects. The investigation explored the possibilities for social participation by older migrants in two suburbs of Bremen in Germany, Gröpelingen and Vahr, which have higher than average migrant Turkish and Russian populations. The results of the 3-year study are presented. The first subproject looked at how 40 migrants aged 60 years and over perceived the support from migrant low threshold services and focused on their wishes and needs using a qualitative content analysis. The second subproject investigated the voluntary engagement for older migrants in an intercultural context through considering the views of volunteers who worked with older migrants (28 interviews and 4 focus groups). Both subprojects complement each other to provide an integrated view of low threshold services for older migrants. The analysis shows the significance of migrant organizations for social participation, the heterogeneity of life circumstances, the motivation of engagement and the need for social acknowledgement.