COVID-19 health information needs of older adults from ethnic minority groups in the UK: a qualitative study.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to identify the COVID-19 health information needs of older adults from ethnic minority groups in the UK. STUDY DESIGN: A qualitative study using semistructured interviews. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Indian and Nepalese older adults (≥65 years), their families (≥18 years) and healthcare professionals (HCPs) (≥18 years) engaging with these communities. Participants were recruited between July and December 2020 from Kent, Surrey and Sussex through community organisations. RESULTS: 24 participants took part in the study; 13 older adults, 7 family members and 4 HCPs. Thirteen participants were female, and the majority (n=17) spoke a language other than English at home. Older participants mostly lived in multigenerational households, and family and community were key for providing support and communicating about healthcare needs. Participants' knowledge of COVID-19 varied widely; some spoke confidently about the subject, while others had limited information. Language and illiteracy were key barriers to accessing health information. Participants highlighted the need for information in multiple formats and languages, and discussed the importance of culturally appropriate avenues, such as community centres and religious sites, for information dissemination. CONCLUSION: This study, undertaken during the COVID-19 pandemic, provides insight into how health information can be optimised for ethnic minority older adults in terms of content, format and cultural relevance. The study highlights that health information interventions should recognise the intersection between multigenerational living, family structure, and the health and well-being of older adults, and should promote intergenerational discussion.

Consucrats Have Agency: What Next for the Profecrat? Comment on "The Rise of the Consucrat".

The trend in ensuring adequate consumer representation across diverse activities and sectors, not least in healthcare, has been speedily implemented, sometimes at the expense of strategy. This commentary explores the concept of the consucrat as a consumer representative, presented by de Leeuw, which raised important questions regarding the way in which individuals and health services interact and collaborate. Adopting a complex services marketing lens, the position of the consucrat is discussed in relation to agency underpinning three tensions identified by de Leeuw: designation; professionalization, and; representation. For equality, professional service providers are referred to as 'profecrats.' Supporting de Leeuw, challenges are made to the underlying assumptions implicit in terms used around representation, the perspective that it is the consucrat only who needs to adapt, and the discourse around the competence of the consucrat. We should not be too cautious in our approach to consumer representation. Consucrats have agency - what next for the profecrat?