Purpose: To explore the experiences of older Filipino migrants adjusting to living permanently in New Zealand. Method: The qualitative descriptive approach taken in this study involved 17 individual face-to-face interviews of older Filipino migrants in New Zealand. Results: Three main themes emerged from the data. The first theme was “moving backwards and moving forward”, which described how these older Filipino migrants adjusted to challenges they experienced with migration. The second theme was “engaging with health services” and presented challenges relating to the New Zealand healthcare system, including a lack of knowledge of the nature of health services, language barriers, and differences in cultural views. The third theme, “new-found home”, highlighted establishing a Filipino identity in New Zealand and adjusting to the challenges of relocation. Conclusion: Adjustment to life in New Zealand for these older Filipino migrants meant starting over again by building new values through learning the basics and then moving forward from there. © 2017 The Author(s).

Adjustment Filipinos life experiences New Zealand Older migrants qualitative

personal experience communication barrier social behavior Communication Barriers Social Identification human middle aged health service Aged language ethnology qualitative research interview Humans migrant male Emigrants and Immigrants Acculturation female cultural factor identity health services Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice human experiment migration New Zealand Emigration and Immigration health care system Transients and Migrants Delivery of Health Care Philippines attitude to health Health Services Accessibility Learning health care delivery