The French government's national prevention plan for the loss of autonomy, developed as part of the country's “successful ageing” policies, stresses the impact of social inequalities in accelerating the loss of autonomy. This article explores immigrants' access to prevention plans for ageing-related issues. To that end, a study was conducted in two towns in the Seine-Saint-Denis department which, as part of their local healthcare plans (“contrats locaux de santé”), had a focus on elderly immigrants. An analysis is made of the local targeted prevention policies; the efforts of healthcare and social care professionals, as well as the perceptions of immigrants relative to ageing. Our research combines a public-health approach with an anthropological approach. The survey is based on interviews with elderly immigrants as well as social and healthcare professionals. The findings demonstrate a real engagement of the political and healthcare sectors, as well as atempts at adjusting initiatives to meet elderly immigrants' needs, but with partial success. The analysis underlines the limits of preventive action, both in terms of the mechanisms employed and the audience in question. It also points to ways of facilitating access to those prevention initiatives. Given the extreme vulnerability of elderly immigrants, existing actions aimed at preventing the loss of autonomy need to be signifcantly reconsidered and adjusted. © 2018 Dares. All rights reserved.

“successful ageing” Seine-Saint-Denis prevention immigrants

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