Smiling older woman wearing a colourful headscarf.

Enabling the healthy and happy ageing of female elders who seek asylum in England

by Web team (HR) | Jun 26, 2024 | All projects, Inclusion and engagement projects, Inequalities in mid to later life projects | 0 comments

What are we trying to do?

Uncover the specific needs of older women who seek asylum in order for them to age well in the UK.

In July 2022, the Department of Health and Social Care published its Women’s Health Strategy for England. The document acknowledges that women asylum seekers and refugees have “additional barriers to accessing healthcare and have poorer health outcomes compared with women in general”.

However, it did not offer any details as to the nature or extent of these barriers, nor did it differentiate between younger and older women.

Why is this important?

In response to the strategy, Age UK argued that it is essential that the needs of older women, as well as younger ones, are acknowledged. Older women from certain communities have specific needs, as they are less likely to engage in the broader community because of cultural expectations of a domestic life, rather than a public one.

How are we doing it?

We conducted four focus groups in collaboration with two charities for those who seek asylum. The focus groups were conducted in five different languages: English, Amharic, Tigrinya, Arabic and Spanish.