Aims: To assess cognitive impairment, frailty, and depression among culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) older adults, and to examine their associations with age, cultural background, education, and healthrelated factors.
Design: Cross-sectional study.
Methods: Data were collected from June to September 2023 across two community healthcare organisations in Sydney. Three validated instruments were used: the Eight-item Informant Interview to Differentiate Aging and Dementia (AD8), the FRAIL Scale, and the Geriatric Depression Scale-5 (GDS-5). Descriptive statistics summarised participant characteristics. Spearman’s rank correlation assessed relationships among the AD8, FRAIL, and GDS-5 scores, and independent t-tests were used to examine differences across demographic subgroups.
Results: A total of 221 older adults participated (mean age = 75.31 years), with 67.4 % reporting one or more chronic conditions. Participants who spoke Mandarin or Cantonese (65.6 %) had significantly lower scores for cognitive impairment, frailty, and depression compared to Arabic-speaking participants (29 %). More than half (53.9 %) scored above the threshold for cognitive impairment (AD8 > 2), with a mean AD8 score of 2.37. Significant positive correlations were observed among cognitive impairment, frailty, and depression. Older age (≥70), lower educational attainment, and the presence of chronic illness were significantly associated with higher levels of cognitive and depressive symptoms.
Conclusion: The findings underscore the need for culturally tailored interventions and integrated care strategies to address the complex health needs of CALD older adults. Ensuring equitable access to linguistically and culturally appropriate healthcare is essential to promoting healthy ageing in multicultural populations.