PELI-D III - Preferences of people of Turkish origin with dementia in Germany: An intersectional perspective

Caring for people with cultural and linguistic backgrounds living with dementia remains a crucial challenge for public health not only in Germany, but also in Europe. In 2020, 1.6 million people lived with dementia in Germany, and this number is expected to rise to 2.8 million by 2050. However, exact figures on the minority population suffering from dementia and in need of care are still missing.

People from cultural and linguistic backgrounds living with dementia face many barriers to accessing healthcare, including different lifestyles, language challenges, certain attitudes and cultural differences or values, which often result in unmet needs and the Quality of care is inadequate. It is clear that culturally sensitive medical and nursing care as well as multilingual information material are not yet standardized. Limited communication opportunities increase the risk of misunderstandings, social isolation and discrimination against the group receiving dementia care.

As part of a pilot study that dealt with the translation and psychometric testing of an instrument for recording preferences for the daily life of older people in various care settings in Germany (PELI-D I and PELI-D II), it became clear that there is one There is a lack of systematic understanding of the nuanced everyday preferences of people with dementia from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. This lack of attention can hinder the development of comprehensive and inclusive care practices, thereby hindering overall progress in dementia care and support for diverse communities. The DZNE Witten therefore took a closer look at the current state of research and, based on a literature search, obtained an initial overview of the complex preferences regarding home care of people of Turkish origin with dementia from an intersectional perspective. Incorporating an intersectional perspective places a strong emphasis on complex experiences, expectations, desires, or goals to meet the everyday preferences of the diverse population. In the next step of the project, interviews will be conducted with people of Turkish origin with dementia, their caregivers and professional healthcare providers.

The expected results of the project include (1) the identification, categorization and prioritization of preferences from the perspective of people of Turkish origin with dementia and their caring relatives, (2) the formation of synthesized perspectives of people with care needs, their caring relatives (3) a Synthesis or modification of the existing instrument PELI-D for the systematic recording of the everyday preferences of people of Turkish origin with dementia in home care or day care in Germany.

To improve the integration of people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds into the healthcare system, it is necessary to recognize the preferences of people with dementia and their carers and to understand the complex factors that influence these preferences. This is crucial to ensure the availability and accessibility of personalized care in healthcare facilities.