The role of language brokers in the access of elderly immigrants with dementia to social and/or healthcare services - a narrative study

This article is a narrative study of the literature in the area of language brokering regarding older immigrants with dementia and their access to social and/or healthcare services. It has been a long time that people have been immigrating to industrious countries looking for a better life for their families. Once they arrive to their destination, acculturation affects parents and children differently. Older people with partial memory loss or full dementia are also among these immigrants and to those of them unfamiliar with the native language of the destination countries, finding access to different services is more challenging. In this context, mostly immigrant parents’ children play the roles of interpreters for their parents and relatives. This practice often referred as "language brokering" has long existed in immigrant communities, but received limited attention from scientists. This study will examine the vary effect of language brokering on the access of elderly immigrants with dementia to social and/or healthcare services in New Zealand. To reach this aim, conducting a narrative review of the literature is needed. The purpose of this research is to review publications being searched through several databases using related terms that explain studies on language brokering. Coding and analysis of the data is currently underway. Our goal is to have the results finalized by end of July ۲۰۲۲. Further analysis is currently underway, but early findings show that language brokers have significant role in facilitating the access of older immigrants with dementia to social and health services.

Keywords:

Dementia , Elderly Immigrants , Health Services , Interpreters , Language Brokers , Social Services.