UTILIZATION OF IN-HOME PAID ASSISTANCE BY HISPANIC AND
ANGLO OLDER ADULTS
Principal Investigator: Judith M. Mitchell, Ph.D.
Purposes
1) To investigate the use of paid in-home assistance by Hispanic and anglo disabled older adults, as a long-term community care model that can prevent premature institutionalization, including how well in-home paid assistance meets the functional needs of older disabled adults; 2) to identify the problems older adults experience with paid assistance, their preferences with paid attendant traits, and to identify the gatekeepers used by adults to acquire adequate knowledge to use paid in-home assistance.
Methodology
Interviews of people with experience using paid in-home help.
Preliminary Results
Interviews have been completed with 62 participants, 43
Non-Hispanic White and 19 Hispanics. Thirty-nine percent of white participants
said they need more help compared to 64% of Hispanics. Twenty-eight percent
of the Hispanic's caregivers were family members and only 2% of White. The
Hispanic group received 80 hours of help per month, the anglo group 71 hours.
At least 50% of each group reported problems with their caregivers, including
making mistakes, poor communication and arguments.