Cultural Sensitivity in Client Meetings
Maria, 77, came to a peer support group organized by a memory association feeling reserved. At first, she remained quiet because actively participating in discussions in Finnish felt difficult. The group facilitator, Petri, noticed that Maria’s participation remained superficial and reflected on how the activities could be made more meaningful. He paused to consider the significance of his own way of working and how cultural diversity could be better taken into account in the group.
How can a facilitator adapt group activities so that all participants have equal opportunities to take part?
Culturally sensitive memory care is based on the professional’s sensitivity in encountering people and on the right attitude. Attitude means openness, respect, and empathy. It starts with oneself and is a conscious choice to relate constructively to cultural differences and to see them as sources of richness rather than obstacles.
Openness and Self-Awareness
In one’s way of working, it is important that professionals are aware of their own prejudices, values, and beliefs. A respectful attitude toward other cultures and ways of life requires the ability to examine one’s own attitudes and, when necessary, to challenge them. Especially in culturally diverse work, professionals should be ready to learn and to adapt their working methods to individual clients.
Empathy and Listening
It is important for professionals to listen to and understand clients’ experiences and feelings without preconceived assumptions. Empathy does not mean only recognizing emotions, but also active listening and hearing the client’s voice on all levels. This is particularly important when the client is an immigrant or comes from another culture. Overall, the attitude should be non-judgmental and understanding, so that the client feels heard and seen.
Building Trust
Trust is a central element of culturally sensitive memory care. Clients from different cultural backgrounds may feel distrust toward authorities or healthcare personnel, which makes building trust especially important. Professionals must be consistent, reliable, and willing to demonstrate that they respect the client’s cultural identity.
Reaching People from Different Linguistic and Cultural Backgrounds
People with dementia from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds, and their family members, may not actively seek contact or access services or association activities, even if the need is significant.
Reaching immigrants in memory care requires conscious planning, networking, and trust-building. It is important to provide information and communicate in clear, easy-to-understand language, also in other languages. Suitable communication channels and methods should also be considered.
Cooperation with multicultural actors—such as immigrant organizations, multicultural centers, and language communities—is a good way to reach people. These actors often have the trust of communities and can serve as bridges between clients and memory care professionals.
Networks and community contact persons can introduce professionals to community practices, and it is worthwhile to ask directly about the experiences, needs, and wishes of people from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds so that support can be as effective as possible.
Working methods define how attitudes are translated into daily practice and interaction with clients. They include concrete actions and methods through which professionals support people with dementia and their family members.
Considering the Whole Family and Community
In multicultural settings, clients’ family relationships may differ significantly from those in the majority culture, and the role of the community may also be important. It is essential for professionals to take into account important family relationships and possible community roles and practices that affect the client’s life and care. However, assumptions that the family automatically participates in care should be avoided.
Participatory and Flexible Methods
Cultural sensitivity requires professionals to use diverse, participatory, and flexible working methods that take the client’s cultural background into account. This may mean having the courage to try new approaches and adapt them to the client’s needs and wishes. For example, using technology, offering memory exercises in multiple languages, organizing remote activities, using culturally meaningful objects, or incorporating community practices and traditions can all be part of multicultural memory care.
Networks and Collaboration
Culturally sensitive memory care is not the responsibility of a single professional alone; it requires cooperation among various actors and organizations. Clients from different cultural backgrounds may need support in many areas of life, such as language skills, legal matters, or support networks. Collaboration with immigrant organizations, multicultural centers, and other community actors is important in order to provide comprehensive support. Through cooperation, professionals may also find new tools. One effective approach is to utilize volunteers who speak the client’s native language to share information and provide support.
Individual Tasks
- Why might culturally sensitive memory care feel challenging or frightening? Name the emotions this situation may evoke in you. Reflect on how you can address fear and uncertainty in your work, and how courage and openness help you develop as a culturally sensitive professional.
- Write a short letter to yourself. Imagine that you have worked with clients with an immigrant background for one year.
- What have you achieved personally?
- What are your successes?
- Was anything challenging?
- What have you learned?
Tell yourself what you admire about the way you began working with clients with an immigrant background.
Group Tasks
- Strengths and Areas for Development in the Community
What strengths and areas for development does your own work community have from the perspective of culturally sensitive memory care? Below is a list of qualities that are beneficial in an organization engaged in multicultural work:
Creativity, openness to new things, diverse activities, avoidance of prejudice, inclusive communication, collaboration networks, enthusiasm, willingness to make an impact.- Decide whether each item is a strength or an area for development in your organization.
- You may also identify other strengths or areas for development that come to mind.
- Creative Problem-Solving Task
How can you best build practices that exclude immigrants? Create a list of everything you could do to ensure that you do not support people with dementia and their family members from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds.- Go through the list item by item and ask yourselves: Is there anything we currently do that in some way resembles these points? Be honest in identifying and highlighting harmful practices.
- Review the highlighted points and decide what first steps will help you change what produces undesirable outcomes. Write down the solutions. For example: What will we do differently?
More information about the topic (in Finnish)
More information
Muistiopas-hanke; eri kieli- ja kulttuuritaustaisten muistisairaiden ja läheisten tukeminen, monikulttuurisen muistityön kehittäminen ja vahvistaminen (suomi, svenska, English)
Muistiopas-hanke; eri kieli- ja kulttuuritaustaisten muistisairaiden ja läheisten tukeminen, monikulttuurisen muistityön kehittäminen ja vahvistaminen (suomi, svenska, Deutsch, English)