Ethnocultural diversity

This chapter, in three parts, explores the influence of culture on health beliefs, behaviors, and outcomes in frail elders who are part of an immigrant population. The first part presents the concept of culture and acculturation. It explores the models used to explain the health and social outcomes of immigrant groups, and it describes the demographics of immigrant groups with an emphasis on several multicultural countries. The second part examines the health, particularly oral health, of ethnocultural minority groups and explains how oral health can relate to cultural background. These include oral health status, beliefs, attitudes, and knowledge, as well as oral health-related practices, use of general healthcare services, and barriers to care. The last section identifies the gaps in our current knowledge about the systemic and oral health of older immigrants and discusses future challenges to health promotion and clinical practice.