Multicultural Elderly Care Centre (MECC)

Home Care needs of the Elderly Black and Ethnic Minority Community in Glasgow


The Group
MECC was set up in 1994 to provide a diverse day-care facility that promotes the welfare of the elderly, particularly those from the black and minority ethnic communities in Glasgow. It provides an extensive programme of activities and advice and assistance, and undertakes crisis management for clients who are isolated or ill. Over the years, through feedback from clients, MECC became aware of the demand for home support services in addition to day care.

What were they trying to achieve?
The research asked: are community care services accessible and adequate for BME communities, and if not, is there a need for a culturally sensitive home support or home help service?  

How did they go about it?
The study areas were Govanhill, Pollokshields and Woodlands. The research was undertaken by a team of community researchers, MECC staff and research consultants TED. The methods used were: 101 face to face individual interviews with day care users, carers and elderly non-day care users; two bilingual focus groups, one with men and one with women; six individual case studies; a conference for key stakeholders; and video recording of focus groups and case studies. 

What did they learn?
The study found that the main barriers to accessing community care services were language, lack of information, bureaucracy, lack of cultural sensitivity, lack of respect for the elderly, and culturally biased assumptions about the ability of families to care. The recommendations from the research project were: 

  • To establish a culturally sensitive home support and care service for BME elderly
  • To develop services to respond to identified needs for personal care, domestic care, respite care, carer support, advocacy, and crisis care
  • To assess the support needs of elderly people based on their, and their family's, circumstances
  • To develop a means of ensuring BME elders and their carers are more aware of available services and are supported in accessing them
  • To conduct an audit of current service provision with a view to providing an electronic directory of services
  • To develop processes for networking between agencies, consultation with the client group, and effective partnership working
  • Training for staff of mainstream services so they are better able to respond to the needs of BME elders; to recruit and train more people from BME communities as home carers; and to establish secondments between voluntary organisations and mainstream service departments.  

Contact
Mohammed A. Islam
Project Director
MECC Network House
311 Calder Street
Glasgow
G42 7NQ  
Tel:  0141-585 8014
Fax:  0141-585 8011
Emaill:  islam@taleemtrust.org