Title

Successful Strategies for Serving Diverse Populations

Abstract

Unique insights of key delivery staff and successful delivery strategies used to overcome cultural barriers were obtained through intensive interviews with fifty staff members. Participants in the study were identified as knowledgeable staff members by project coordinators. An open-ended qualitative methodology was used to interview staff members about barriers they faced in delivering services to new populations and strategies that were used to address these barriers. Fifty interviews were completed. Of those, forty-two interviewees were frontline staff members and eight were "hands-on" administrators. Fifteen of these staff members worked in programs that were targeted to urban dwelling Latino families and ten served urban African-Americans. Of the twenty-five staff members who worked in programs targeted to rural populations, eight worked to provide respite to African-American families while four served rural Latinos. The remaining thirteen interviewees served rural families of all ethnic groups. Interviews were tape recorded for accuracy and later transcribed. Emergent themes include: successful vs. unsuccessful service efforts, diversity of caregivers within ethnic groups, staff members' perceptions of their clients, staffing patterns, cultural views of Alzheimer's disease, service use in general, and government assistance. Concrete examples from staff members' experiences are used to illustrate these themes.

Department(s)

Psychology

Document Type

Article

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1300/j027v21n03_06

Keywords

Alzheimer's disease, support services, minority communities, rural communities, service barriers

Publication Date

2002

Journal Title

Home Health Care Services Quarterly

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