| Educational and Health care policies in Canada are based on the principle of universal accessibility. With this principle everyone has an equal right to access and receive educational and health services regardless of age and ethnicity.; In spite of being part of the mainstream (dominant group), a large number of seniors suffer from ageism and have difficulty in accessing available services. Seniors from non-European backgrounds are confronted with double barriers: ageism and racism. Those seniors who are from non-European culture and non-English speaking are more vulnerable than any group of seniors.; This study was aimed at exploring the effectiveness of a culturally sensitive, self-directed and self-supported educational programme for the selected population. The purpose of the programme was to increase self-confidence and alleviate social isolation among a selected group of senior, South-East Asian immigrants by providing a self-directed, self-supportive educational programme.; In this study a descriptive design was employed: the independent variables include the subjects' gender, age, ethnic origin, marital status, language, education, income, financial status. The dependent variables were perception of health, self-confidence and loneliness, and ability to speak English.; Participants included twenty seven seniors. They are all located in Hamilton, Ontario, and they immigrated from Vietnam within the last five years. All spoke Chinese and resided in apartment buildings in downtown Hamilton. Two questionnaires were developed and tested for face and content validity and reliability for this study. The health assessment questionnaire was developed to measure the perception of health, self-confidence, happiness and loneliness. Bader's (1983) oral language expression rating scale was modified to measure the seniors' ability to speak English. In addition, a weekly journal was kept to record the progress of individual seniors' ability to speak English and their group interaction.; The demographic profile questions indicated respondents were: male 73%, married 73%, a low income earner--under {dollar}500.00/month 65%, and Chinese origin 100%. Forty six percent of seniors had obtained an elementary school education (46%).; Significantly, the seniors have created their roles as experts among the younger generation on maintaining cultural rituals and customs for the Canadian of South East Asian origin. They have begun a self support group, independent of Provincial and Federal Government funding and started to take care of each other rather than depending on their children. |
