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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Diane Dewar, PhD and Wendy Weller, PhD. Health Policy, Management and Behavior, University at Albany, State University of New York, One University Place, room 159, School of Public Health, Rensselaer, NY 12144, 518-402-0333, ddewar@albany.edu

Previous research on family caregiving has focused almost exclusively on caregivers rather than on the recipients of care. This study utilizes data from the 1994-2000 Second Longitudinal Study of Aging to examine: the associations between the health and socio-demographic characteristics of care recipients and the configuration of the family caregiving portion of their social support networks; and the family caregiver network composition and care recipient health service utilization. These data follow a nationally representative sample of civilian noninstitutionalized persons 70 years of age and over with reported Alzheimer's or other cognitive limitations, and an additional 562 cases with reported memory problems. Multivariate models based on the Anderson-Aday framework which account for the multistage sampling design are used to determine: 1) the characteristics of elderly individuals most likely to receive care from family members rather than paid, formal providers; 2) how family caregiving affect the use of preventive health services and the likelihood of institutionalization among care recipients. Findings show that fewer health limitations, co-residency with family members, lower SES, being female and being non-white increase the likelihood of informal care, versus formal caregiving. The presence of a caregiver significantly increased the likelihood of receiving home health care, skilled nursing care, and homemaker/companion services. Those with informal caregivers were less likely to use homemaker/companion services but were more likely to use vitamins and calcium supplements.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify types of caregivers for elderly with cognitive limitations
• Analyze the impact of caregiving on utilization of services
• Determine the impact of caregiving on health of the elderly

Keywords: Access to Health Care, Caregivers

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation