title: The language needs of residents from linguistically diverse backgrounds in Victorian aged care facilities.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the language needs of residents of aged care facilities within the State of Victoria, Australia, and determine what language resources were accessible to them.
  
  
  METHODS
  Postal questionnaires were sent to 586 aged care facilities, enquiring about residents' and staff members' languages and language-specific resources.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The response rate was 38%. The majority of facilities had residents who spoke non-English languages, and 55 different languages were represented. Three-quarters of the facilities employed staff members who spoke to residents in non-English languages and employed language-specific resources. The metropolitan and ethnospecific facilities had a greater presence of non-English-speaking residents and staff and more commonly used language-specific resources in comparison with regional and mainstream facilities.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found a large number of languages used by many residents from non-English-speaking backgrounds, with evidence of a large unmet language resource need. Unmet need was greatest in rural areas.
authors.affiliation: Aged Mental Health Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Susannah J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Runci
authors.affiliation: Aged Mental Health Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Barbara J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Eppingstall
authors.affiliation: Aged Mental Health Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Eva S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: van der Ploeg
authors.affiliation: Aged Mental Health Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Georgia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Graham
authors.affiliation: Aged Mental Health Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Daniel W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: O'Connor
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003144:Communication Barriers; D016852:Housing for the Elderly; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D020380:Needs Assessment; D009735:Nursing Homes; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014739:Victoria
keywords: cultural diversity; home for the aged; language; nursing home