Intersection of health service use with cultural factors and mental health needs among Non-Latino White and Latino older adults

Objective: Examine associations between socio-cultural constructs, mental health needs, and health service utilization in 1830 Latino and Non-Latino White older adults. The cross section between health service use and mental health needs highlights the common practice by older adults to use health resources for mental health care. Method: Assessed predisposing/cultural, enabling, and need factors related to health service use in a cross-sectional randomized sample from the Health and Retirement Study. Descriptive and hierarchical Poisson regression analysis techniques were employed to estimate predictors of service use. Results: Results reveal health-related need variables and previous experience with mental health services as the most prominent predictors. However, multiple predisposing/cultural constructs remained significant after controlling for enabling and need variables including language, nativity status, and participation in religious services. Conclusion: Findings inform and extend use of the health behavioral model to conceptualize intersections between health and mental health needs with service use in older adult populations. Accounting for socio-cultural influences on health and mental health needs and service use by older adults is crucial to providing comprehensive care, especially for Latino older adults. Directions for future research on cultural influences on service use by minority older adults are discussed.