Gerontology & Geriatric Research

Abstract

A Culturally-sensitive Approach to Elderly Care

Gunn-Tove Minde

This chapter takes a culturally sensitive approach to elderly care. The elderly are ethnic Norwegians, the Sami Indigenous people and the Kven minorities in the Arctic region in Norway. How can an older person rediscover his or her dignity when they arrive in nursing homes? Cultural values, beliefs and worldviews are anchored in “the living body.” This means that the human’s biological conditions are woven together with life experiences and interpretations thereof. The most important motivator in rediscovering the older person`s dignity in nursing homes lies in the interaction between the older person and service workers who have a culturally–sensitive approach. This means that the social and health providers see the older person as a complete person, not just his or her bodily and cognitively impairment. By using a person-sentred care in milieu therapy in the nursing homes, the students were preserving health and continuity in the lives of elderly patients.