Background: health and social care services are required to provide quality service provision to meet all older people's needs, including any needs specific to minority ethnic groups. The heterogeneity of the population, however, highlights the need to offer a range of services that reflect people's language, cultural and religious differences. Objectives: this paper reviews the literature concerned with minority ethnic elders in care homes. Methods: systematic searches were conducted using the following online databases: Web of Science, Pub Med, Sociological Abstracts, Social Sciences Index, AMED, British Nursing Index, Medline, PsycInfo and CINAHL. Independent reviewers undertook a structured assessment of each piece of literature. Data extraction and analysis were in accordance with established methods. Findings: the literature has been classified into two key areas. First, issues arising from international literature, including factors relating to access, equality and workforce issues, care satisfaction and placement decision-making. The second area focuses on the issues emerging from the UK literature. Issues of particular concern include barriers to care provision for minority ethnic older people, loss of independence and the recognition of cultural needs. Conclusion: the review indicates how problems remain in ensuring the delivery of best-quality long-term care to ethnic elders in care homes. The review also highlights the absence of studies focusing on the perception of care from residents' perspectives and their involvement in making placement and care decisions.
