Your Culture. Your Story. Your Home: Why Culturally Appropriate Care Matters 🫂🌏

2 days ago

2 min read

Growing older is a natural part of life, but the need to feel understood, respected and connected does not disappear with age. For older people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities, culturally appropriate care can help recog

nise the importance of language, traditions, values and community connections.

What is culturally appropriate care?

Culturally appropriate care recognises that every person has their own cultural background, language, traditions, values and experiences.

For some older people, being able to communicate comfortably and maintain connections with their culture and community can contribute to feeling respected and understood. Care should therefore consider the individual rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach.

This is where the Association for Culturally Appropriate Services (AfCAS) plays an important role. AfCAS advocates for quality care for people from diverse cultural and language backgrounds and works to connect communities and service providers.

Why does culturally appropriate care matter?

Good care should look beyond a person's age or immediate needs. It should also consider who they are, where they come from and what is important to them.

For CALD communities, language, traditions and cultural values may influence how older people communicate and engage with services. Greater cultural understanding can therefore help create more respectful and inclusive experiences.

AfCAS contributes to this through services including training, mentoring, cultural audits, and community engagement and advisory services.

Culture, connection and belonging ❤️

Culture is more than food, language or traditions. It can be a meaningful part of a person's identity and sense of belonging.

Families, carers, community organisations and service providers can all contribute to making older people from diverse backgrounds feel heard, valued and respected.

By increasing awareness of culturally appropriate care, we can help build communities where growing older does not mean losing connection to the culture and identity that make each person unique.