Older Immigrants’ Experiences of Social Exclusion in Finland
摘要
Older immigrants may be at a higher risk of social exclusion due to their ethnic background, culture, and age. This study aims to examine how social exclusion manifests in the daily lives of older immigrants. It focuses on two domains of social exclusion: exclusion from services and exclusion from social relations. The study draws on semi-structured interviews with 26 older immigrants and 19 social and health care service providers. The data were analysed by combining inductive and deductive content analysis approaches. The results show that older immigrants experience racism in public spaces because of their ethnic backgrounds, appearance, and religion. Unemployment and international protection statuses can disrupt older immigrants’ social relations with their neighbours when discovered. Minority cultural norms impact older immigrants’ social relations with their communities. Prejudices in Finnish society have detrimental effects on older immigrants’ access to public services, such as transportation, social services, and health care. Homogeneous service systems that lack cultural sensitivity may exclude older immigrants from services. We recommend that professionals avoid misunderstandings and assumptions that exclude older immigrants from services. Addressing prejudices is necessary in Finnish society, and the Finnish government and media need to ensure objectivity in their discourse about immigrants to facilitate a positive change in attitudes.