Long-Term Care Use Among Older Migrants in the Netherlands: What to Expect in the Next Decade?

The number of older adults in the Netherlands is growing rapidly, and an increasing share of them is foreign-born. This may have implications for long-term care (LTC) demand. This study provides insights into older migrants' current and future use of LTC provisions under the Dutch long-term care act (LTCA). We distinguish three types of LTC and six groups of older migrants and analyze register data of all foreign-born older adults. Descriptive statistics for the 2016-2022 period and logistic regression analyses show considerable heterogeneity regarding the LTC-services used and the origin of care users. Most notably, Moroccan and Turkish older adults are least likely to use residential care and more likely to use personal care budgets. By combining our models' results with population projections, we project that older migrants' use of home-based care and personal budgets will increase rapidly in the next decade. Migrants with western and Surinamese origin will most often use LTC. Although the demand for residential care will rise less markedly, residential care will remain most used by older migrants under the LTCA. The rising demand for home-based care calls for policy efforts accommodating flexibility, room for differences, and grounds for establishing trustworthy relationships between all involved actors.

The Experience of Aging and Perceptions of "Aging Well" Among Older Migrants in the Netherlands.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: In this study, we examine the experience of aging and subjective views of what it means to age well among older adults with a migrant background in the Netherlands. We embed the study within the successful aging debate and tackle two of its most persistent critiques: the failure to adequately include subjective views in the definition of aging well and the failure to recognize that the process of aging is culturally determined. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: The research draws on qualitative data collected through eight focus-group discussions with the six largest migrant groups in the Netherlands, namely Indo-Dutch and Moluccans, and migrants with Western, Surinamese, Antillean, Turkish, and Moroccan background. RESULTS: The study findings show that in general older migrants experience aging more positively than commonly assumed. Nevertheless, some negative aspects of aging were also mentioned. These together with fears about the future underpin participants' perceptions about aging well. Key aspects of successful aging include remaining healthy, independent, and engaged. Differences between and within groups exist in the meaning given to these concepts and the extent to which other specific aging-related wishes were mentioned. These differences are rooted in participants' experiences of the migration event, employment history, and their current socioeconomic conditions. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS: We conclude that the life course perspective is essential in understanding migrants' aging process and their views on successful aging, and suggest that policies and interventions which promote disease prevention and tackle social exclusion will be beneficial for older adults with a migration background.

"Left Like Stones in the Middle of the Road": Narratives of Aging Alone and Coping Strategies in Rural Albania and Bulgaria.

OBJECTIVES: We explore and compare older adults' lived experiences and coping strategies in two postcommunist countries-Albania and Bulgaria. Wholesale youth outmigration and economic and institutional regional decline have led to decaying rural areas where older adults become "abandoned." Aging alone, as couples or widowed, they are socially marginalized and in constant search for coping mechanisms which enable them to survive. METHODS: We adopt a social-psychology theoretical framework which distinguishes between problem-focused and emotion-focused coping. Data include 28 in-depth interviews with older residents and participant observation in selected rural areas of the two countries. RESULTS: In both countries, rural social isolation is expressed as a lack of close family ties-mainly due to the removal through outmigration of children and grandchildren-and detachment from society at large. The most prevalent coping mechanism consists of practical and emotional support from non-kin ties, especially neighbors. Remittances help to resolve material needs, especially in Albania, where most rural young people migrate abroad. In both settings, a range of emotion-focused coping strategies were identified, including perceptions of decreased needs, lowered expectations about relationships, and satisfaction at the achievements of the younger generations. DISCUSSION: Similarities between research findings in Albania and Bulgaria reflect their shared political and institutional history. Although few, differences relate to a combination of contrasting migration and cultural patterns. In both settings problem- and emotion-focused adaptive strategies are overlapping, and successful aging efforts seem to be of a communal rather than an individualistic nature.

[Health and wellbeing of older migrants in the Netherlands: A narrative literature review]. / Gezondheid en welbevinden van oudere migranten in Nederland: Een narratieve literatuurstudie.

In the past few years there has been a growing attention for older migrants, but the question of what we actually know about this group of people remains open. This article strives to fill this knowledge lacuna by presenting an overview of current research findings on health and wellbeing. In total 104 publications were taken into account in this literature review, including 69 articles published in (inter)national journals and 35 reports. The results show that a great deal of research is dedicated to the three largest groups of non-western migrants - Surinamese, Turkish and Moroccan older adults - and health-related themes such as health status and healthcare utilization and quality. Interest in the field of wellbeing is, on the other hand, still rather small. Furthermore, there seems to be little attention to diversity on the current research agenda, although prior research has shown relatively large differences between migrant groups. Based on this literature review, we conclude with a plea for more explanatory research, which goes beyond country of origin and socio-economic status.