The Experiences of People From Ethnic Minority Backgrounds Living in Care Homes-A Qualitative Systematic Review.
Lorna Hollowood, Julie Taylor, Kerry Allen
PMID 40387323WHAT IT FOUND
Residents and families said care homes were hard when language, food, beliefs and family roles did not fit their culture.
Communication barriers were central; familiar staff, meals and rituals were described as important.
Key findings
01The review synthesised experiences into three themes: communication and language, the care home place and quality of care, and the person's culture, beliefs, food and family.
02Communication and language barriers were reported in 12 studies and were described as important for staff-resident relationships, peer relationships, social isolation and quality of life.
03Food and family were recurring concerns: 11 studies discussed food, and 10 included family experiences.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPsWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only English-language studies were included, so non-English research and perspectives may be missing. All included studies were from high-income countries: US (7), Australia (6), Canada (2) and Sweden (1); no UK or low- and middle-income country studies were found. The review synthesised qualitative studies, many with small, purposive or convenience samples, so the themes are not generalisable to all ethnic minority care home residents. Staff data were present in some included studies, but the analysis was confined to residents and family members, so staff-side constraints are not represented. Some individual studies had context-specific limitations, such as one nursing home, one ethnic group, interviewer identity, or lack of measures for English proficiency.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not treat these themes as proof that culturally tailored care improves outcomes. The review synthesises experiences from 16 qualitative studies, all in high-income countries, so it cannot show effectiveness or apply to every ethnic minority group.