title: The structure of informal care: are there differences by race?
abstract: This study investigated whether there are race differences in the structure of informal caregiving networks. Data on 3,793 functionally impaired persons age 65 and over from the 1989 National Long-Term Care Survey were analyzed. The size of the total caregiver network and the unpaid network did not differ by race, but the likelihood of there being a non-immediate family member among unpaid caregivers was higher among disabled older blacks. These findings raise questions about whether race differences in nursing home utilization and paid long-term care services, documented in other studies, can be explained by differences in caregiving arrangements.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Burton
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kasper
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shore
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Cagney
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: LaVeist
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cubbin
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: German
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000145:classification; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017028:Caregivers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D016330:Frail Elderly / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006701:Home Nursing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007326:Institutionalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008134:Long-Term Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D012944:Social Support; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*