The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #54958

R. Turner Goins, PhD¹, Amber Tincher, B S¹, and S. Melinda Spencer, B S². (1) Center on Aging, West Virginia University, PO Box 9127, Morgantown, WV 26506, (304) 293-3129, rgoins@hsc.wvu.edu, (2) Department of Psychology, West Virginia University, 2234 Life Sciences Building, 53 Campus Drive, P O Box 6040, Morgantown, WV 26506

The purpose of this study was two-fold: (1) to determine if there are any differences in awareness and utilization of available home- and community-based long-term care (HCBLTC) between rural American Indian and white elderly, and (2) to examine how these individuals learned about HCBLTC programs. METHODS: The study involved face-to-face survey interviews conducted in 2002 with 62 rural American Indian and 64 white elderly with co-morbid diabetes. Both groups were community-dwelling persons aged 65 years or older. RESULTS: After adjusting for socio-demographics and functional disability, the American Indian respondents were significantly more likely to be aware of and to have used HCBLTC programs compared to their white counterparts. The most common way that the American Indian participants learned about HCBLTC programs was through health care referrals, while the most common way for whites was through friends. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings do not support previous research that suggests racial/ethnic minority elderly are at a disadvantage in HCBLTC awareness or use. One explanation for our findings is that the vast majority of the HCBLTC services available to American Indians were tribally-run, which would significantly reduce the likelihood of them being culturally insensitive or inappropriate. Also, we believe that a strong sense of community cohesion among the American Indian elderly in our study contributed to their increased awareness and use of HCBLTC services.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe race/ethnicity differences in home-and community-based long-term care awareness and use between American Indians and white elderly.
• Articulate how American Indian and white eldery learned about home-and community-based long-term care programs.
• Discuss the unique service delivery context that reservation-based American Indian elderly experience for long-term care.

Keywords: American Indians, Long-Term Care

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.