Dr Ruth Wei1, Professor Catherine Fetherston1
1Murdoch University, Perth/South Street, Australia
Biography:
Dr Ruth Wei has 35 years’ experience in nursing practice, education and research. She is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Nursing at Murdoch University. Ruth’s research and education interests and activities lie in palliative and end-of-life care, advanced care planning and quality improvement in healthcare. More specifically, her research and activities include the provision of equitable healthcare, death education, ACP and end-of-life decision-making, strategies to support carers, friends and loved ones of migrant family members with life-limiting illnesses, and training related to the provision of cultural appropriate care to migrants. Ruth works closely with Chinese communities in WA.
Abstract:
Background: Australia is one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse societies in the world, in which Chinese migrants have become the third largest migrant community, comprising 2.3% of Australia’s total population. Ensuring cultural competence in palliative care (PC) for this growing migrant population in Australia is essential to the provision of optimal quality care and services in the PC domain. However, providing high-quality PC for culturally diverse migrants is a challenging and complex matter for the health system.
Aims: This project aims to provide insights into the challenges of delivering culturally competent palliative care for the Chinese migrant community in Australia.
Methods: A qualitative design with interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to provide detailed examinations of participants’ lived experiences. This study used in-depth semi-structured interviews to explore the experiences of Chinese migrants in Australia who had either personally accessed palliative care or cared for a family member receiving PC. Snowball and purposeful sampling were used to recruit 11 participants to reach data saturation.
Results: Six key themes emerged from the findings: 1) understanding PC; 2) tailored care planning; 3) Cross-cultural communication; 4) cultural continuity; 5) family care strain and 6) navigating the healthcare system. Due to the lack of support for families and relatives, the physical and mental burden on the family caregivers becomes a primary concern. Language discrepancy was also identified as a risk factor that might result in suboptimal care, increasing psychological stress and family burden.
Conclusion: This study advocates inter-sectorial collaboration to establish a needs-oriented, linguistically, and culturally appropriate palliative care service for non-Western migrants and families. Enhancements can be achieved through healthcare professionals' cultural competence training, individualised cultural care plans, assisting patient and family navigation of PC services, and family carer training.