Reaching out to Minority Caregivers

1. Reaching out to Minority Caregivers Monica James Senior/Caregiver Program Harris County Hospital District

2. Minority Caregivers • How to reach out to Chinese, African American, and Hispanic communities? • What worked? • Obstacles, What didn’t worked? • Recommendations?

3. Chinese Caregivers • Strong family bond is a cultural expectation, there is sometimes no word associated with 'caregiver' in the language. Chinese caregivers might feel guilty by looking for personal help because they don't feel they have a right to be stressed. • Culturally, they tend to value privacy and are often hesitant to seek services so building trust is essential. • Traditional Chinese values dictate that the dedicated caregivers for elders are their oldest son and his wife or other children if the eldest son is not available. When a daughter marries, she becomes responsible for the care of her in-laws. She is no longer considered part of the family caregiver network for her family of origin.

4. Outreach to the Chinese Community: What worked? • Identify language spoken: the two Chinese language most commonly spoken are Cantonese and Mandarin. • Develop collaborations with highly regarded, existing Asian community agencies to improve your credibility with caregivers and their families. • Use Asian media (Asian newspapers, television and radio stations) to publicize the availability of Chinese friendly services.

5. Challenges in Reaching out to African Americans Caregivers • KNOWLEDGE: AA caregivers maybe less knowledgeable about the full array of available formal care services. • MISTRUST: Dissatisfaction with formal care systems may be one of the factors that promotes the continued use of informal caregivers and alternative health care providers • Churches: Rely on assistance from black churches before using services from other formal organizations

6. The African American Caregiver Community: What worked? • Direct contact from other local community-based programs and colleagues. • Mailing and posting announcements • Television and radio announcements • Issuing press release and contacting feature writers of local newspapers • Provide incentives • Community- and faith-based organizations • Churches • Senior Centers • Community partnerships • Area Agency on Aging • African American Health Coalition • Fraternities and Sororities • Local Universities • Other local organizations • African American Business

7. Outreach to the Hispanic Caregivers: What worked? • Collaborated with other local community-based programs and colleagues that serve the Hispanic Community. • Mailing and posting announcements in varies languages • Television and radio announcements • Issuing press release and contacting feature writers of local newspapers • Provide incentives • Educational materials and resource list in both Spanish and English • Partnering with local Hispanic businesses

8. The Minority Caregiver: What worked? Flexible: • You want to schedule service offering when it is convenient for the caregiver. • Offer respite care for care recipients. • Utilize local churches, community centers, schools and local business. • Coordinate services with other local community events. • Advertise interpreter availability • Offer incentives