May 6 - 8, 2002
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Providing Culturally Competent Disability Services
to Persons Born in other Countries May 6 - 8, 2002 |
Rehabilitation for ethnic minorities and immigrants in The Netherlands
Van den Heuvel, W.
Institute of Rehabilitation Research(iRv)
University Maastricht
Hoensbroeck, The Netherlands
Abstract
Minority groups and immigrants have long been part of Dutch society, owing to its colonial past and immigration/ refugee policy. One tenth of the population belongs to an ethnic minority group, an expanding percentage. Ethnic minority groups are Dutch res idents born outside the Netherlands and "non-Dutch", or born in the Netherlands, having at least one parent born elsewhere. Growth of the elderly population is more rapid within minority groups than amongst native-born Dutch, leading to increased health p roblems, functional limitations and dependency. Recently, health care delivery for minority groups - especially home care and rehabilitation - has become a more significant issue. Problems include communication and language, cultural beliefs about illness , differences in values and expectations and "new" morbidity patterns. Specific rehabilitation needs of minority patients are being recognized; several programs are developing to define and meet them, and the first qualitative inventory is published. As n eeds are recognized, innovation in care delivery is proposed. Basic knowledge is lacking, however; more research is urgently needed.