Health status of older migrants in the Netherlands: Cross-cultural validation of health scales

This thesis addresses several aspects of health (loneliness, depression and cognition) and health assessment in older migrants. The overall objective of the thesis was to improve health diagnostics for older migrants, with the help of cross-culturally validated scales.
The SYMBOL study (SYstematic Memory testing Beholding Other Languages) was a cross-sectional study in which particpants aged 55 years and older of Dutch, Turkish, Moroccan and Surinamese background were recruited via their GP’s. We cross-culturally validated scales, including a new dementia screening test, the Cross-Cultural Dementia screening (CCD), which could screen for dementia in migrants who speak little or no Dutch and have a low educational level.
The results provided support for the use of the (translated version of the) De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale and the 15 item Geriatric Depression Scale among older Turkish, Moroccan, and Surinamese migrants as adequate assessment scales for loneliness and depression, respectively.
In SYMBOL, we used the CCD to assess prevalence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia in migrants with Turkish, Moroccan and Surinamese backgrounds. In Turkish, Moroccan and Surinamese‐Hindustani participants, MCI was 2-4 times more prevalent, and dementia was 3-4 times more prevalent compared to native Dutch.
Knowing that these older migrant groups will increase, the need to address diseases which come with ageing will be larger and therefore research among older migrants has not come to an end. Researchers in Europe should integrate migrants in their study sample, as cross-culturally validated scales are available, to enlarge the body of scientific evidence.