282 Hidden mechanisms and various faces of racism in elder care: lived experiences of racialized care recipients and care workers in Belgium

Abstract EP3.2, e-Poster Terminal 3, September 3, 2025, 13:05 - 14:00 Aims As populations age, care systems must respond to the needs of increasingly diverse and racialized minority groups. At the same time, caregivers with a migration background are playing an expanding role in dementia and elder care, often filling gaps caused by staff shortages. This paper examines how racism manifests in dementia and elder care in Belgium and its impact on both racialized care recipients and caregivers. Methods This study draws on a cross-analysis of two extensive empirical research projects. The first is a five-year qualitative study (both cross-sectional and longitudinal) engaging older migrants (with and without dementia) and their caregivers (both family and professional) in Belgium. The second is a two-year action research project conducted in three Belgian nursing homes, engaging management staff and racialized care workers. Results Findings expose the adverse effects of racism on the well-being of racialized older migrants and their families through uncaring encounters and poor care quality. The results also highlight the various manifestations of overt and covert racism experienced by racialized professional care workers, with negative consequences for their emotional and psychological well-being. Using an intersectional and decolonial lens, this paper unpacks how racialization and intersectional othering function as hidden mechanisms of differentiation, underlying the racism faced by both racialized care recipients and caregivers, reinforcing inequities in elder care. It argues that addressing systemic racism in dementia and elder care requires structural and intersectional approaches that go beyond surface diversity policies. This includes acknowledging the historical and systemic nature of racism embedded in care structures and challenging the presumed neutrality and universality of care practices. Conclusion To address these deeply embedded inequities, this paper advocates for a fundamental reimagining of elder care, one that centers racialized voices, acknowledges historical injustices, and actively advances anti-racist and equitable care structures and practices.