Exploring satisfaction with personal social care services amongst Pakistani, Bangladeshi and White people

Introduction

This study found that: among the Bangladeshi and Pakistani, and comparison white British, groups studied there were common drivers of social care satisfaction regardless of ethnicity and religion. However, the research identified a number of factors specific to the Bangladeshi and Pakistani groups which affect awareness of services, and how social care is accessed and received that could explain some of the differences in satisfaction. Neither of these groups is homogenous and other factors such as education, whether they were first or second generation migrants and English language skills were also important.

The study suggested that local authorities and providers could engage with minority communities, through the media and community organisations, to raise awareness of available services and reduce the stigma associated with accessing services; service user characteristics and preferences should be taken into account when choosing a package of care to ensure that there is cultural and religious sensitivity; improved and ongoing training for social workers and care workers on relevant local cultural issues and on how to develop a service user led understanding of needs may improve relationships with care users; communication with those who do not speak English fluently could be improved through workforces that are representative of local populations, greater use of interpreters and better briefing and training of both interpreters and social workers.

A number of steps could be taken in collecting satisfaction data from surveys to improve accessibility for service users of all backgrounds, but particularly for those whose first language is not English or who receive a lot of help from carers in completing questionnaires. Verbal translations may be needed to include people who cannot speak English; community organisations could play a role in raising awareness of surveys and facilitating participation; and clarification needs to be given to carers on their role in completing the questionnaire.