– I had gone crazy from being home all the time. I feel that the mental health is much better from being here, says Mohammed Irshad Butt. Three times a week he attends meetings of the Norwegian-Pakistan Elderly Association (NPEF), which is an association for elderly Pakistani men. The chairman of the association, Majid Tabassam Chaudry, says that many Pakistani men feel alone or feel lonely in Norwegian society. – The association will be a meeting place where you can talk together about things you have experienced, problems you face, illness and health, Chaudry says. Health in particular is an important topic. Majid Tabassam Chaudry is a board member of the Norwegian-Pakistan Elderly Association. He started the association in 2002 because he wanted to meet others with the same background and interests. Photo: Oda Elise Svelstad / news Develops mental illness According to Statistics Norway’s living conditions survey from 2016, immigrants have poorer health than the rest of the population. It also shows research done by Beate Lie Sverre. She is an associate professor at the Department of Nursing and Health Sciences at the University of Southeast Norway (USN). – Most immigrants have good mental and physical health when they come to Norway, but many develop visible health problems and mental illness during their lifetime in Norway, she says. Case and grief Sverre points out that moving to another country is a burden in itself. Leaving the homeland can mean loss, grief and many losses. Immigrants must adapt to a new society and a new culture. And it can be very demanding, especially if one is also faced with stigmatizing attitudes. – Migration and the adaptation process in the new society pose a major health risk. – If we combine this with normal age changes, we see that older immigrants age faster than the rest of the population, Sverre states. Beate Lie Sverre is affiliated with the Center for Care Research – South and the research group USN Eldreforsk. Beate Lie Sverre’s doctoral dissertation Beate Lie Sverre wrote her doctoral dissertation on older Pakistani women in Norway and the connections between migration and health. The dissertation shows, among other things, that the women who participated in the study suffered from chronic musculoskeletal pain. There were several reasons for this. Many had had physically tough jobs, and at the same time had the main responsibility for the home and raising children. Poor finances, stigmatizing and discriminatory attitudes in Norwegian society are also some of the reasons for the health problems. The hard life as an immigrant and as a woman has seen itself in their bodies, according to Sverre. Einsemd This is something the chairman of the board of NPEF also recognizes himself in. According to Chaudry, several of the men have physical and mental ailments. Many are also lonely. This feeling is made worse by the fact that many also experience a cultural difference between themselves and the children. The children grew up in Norway and belong to a Norwegian environment and speak Norwegian. They watch Norwegian TV and Norwegian food. The elderly do not. – They feel alienated in their own home, Chaudry points out. Chairman of the board of NPEF, Majid Tabassam Chaudry, believes the association is vital. Photo: Oda Elise Svelstad / news He further explains that being able to meet other people with the same background, culture and language is especially important. – This is like medicine for them. Had they not had this place, it could have had fatal consequences, Chaudry adds. Anxiety and depression Zeljka Cvetkovic is a research fellow at USN, and is working on a doctoral dissertation on older immigrants and mental health. Both international and national research shows that older immigrants have poorer mental health than older people in the majority population. – Refugees are the group that is most vulnerable in terms of developing mental illness. Some of them may develop mental illness later, at an older age, says Cvetkovic. Anxiety and depression are common, although there are large variations. Stress and existential questions about the life they have lived – and will live – have left their mark. There are also many who feel lonely. And fear of loneliness. – More elderly immigrants still miss the country they come from. They can feel many losses, adds Sverre, who is Cvetkovic’s guide. Zeljka Cvetkovic is affiliated with the Center for Care Research – South and the research group USN Eldreforsk. Photo: [email protected] / [email protected] Do not see a doctor Despite the fact that many have physical and mental ailments, according to Chaudry in NPEF, few go to the doctor. – 70% of those who meet here are illiterate, and do not speak Norwegian very well. In addition, there are few who want to admit to their doctor that they have ailments, Chaudry states. Research that shows that older immigrants use less of the health services than the majority population does. When they go to the doctor, they often have difficulty putting into words their health situation, they express themselves in a different way than doctors are used to. That’s what fellow Zeljka Cvetkovic said. The result is usually that the need for health services is not met. – There are many Norwegians who take information and knowledge about health as a matter of course. This is not the case among many older immigrants, Cvetkovic emphasizes. – They rarely know what they have opportunities for, and demands for. Card games are a popular activity at the Norwegian-Pakistani Elderly Association. Gathering at the Norwegian-Pakistani Elderly Association in Greenland in Oslo. Mohammed Irshad Butt and chairman Majid Tabassam Chaudry talk together. – Social meeting places In 2060, every fourth immigrant will be over 70 years old. – As a society, if we are to provide equal health services, we need knowledge about it, says Sverre. According to her, a lot of prevention and health can be achieved by facilitating social meeting places for older immigrants. As NPEF does. – Meeting people with the same language, the same religion and other things one has in common can contribute to new social relationships, and the experience of belonging that can offset the feeling of loneliness and loss, Sverre concludes.
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Older immigrants age faster than other groups – news Kultur og underholdning
