title: Adult caregiving among American Indians: the role of cultural factors.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  With a sample of American Indian adults, we estimated the prevalence of adult caregiving, assessed the demographic and cultural profile of caregivers, and examined the association between cultural factors and being a caregiver. This is the first such study conducted with American Indians.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data came from a cross-sectional study of 5,207 American Indian adults residing on 2 closely related Lakota Sioux reservations in the Northern Plains and one American Indian community in the Southwest. Cultural factors included measures of cultural identity and traditional healing practices.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventeen percent of our sample reported being caregivers. In both the Northern Plains and Southwest, caregiving was positively correlated with younger age, being a woman, larger household size, attending and participating in Native events, and endorsement of traditional healing practices. In both regions, attendance and participation in Native events and engagement in traditional healing practices were associated with increased odds of caregiving after adjusting for covariates. Only in the Northern Plains did we find that speaking some Native language at home was associated with increased odds of being a caregiver. Examination of interaction terms indicated some sex differences in the association between cultural factors and caregiving in the Northern Plains but not in the Southwest.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings indicate that greater cultural identity and engagement in traditional healing practices are related to caregiving in American Indian populations. Caregiving research, intervention efforts, and caregiving programs and services in Native communities should pay special attention to the dynamics of culture and caregiving.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, Center on Aging, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA. rgoins@hsc.wvu.edu
authors.forename: R Turner
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Goins
authors.forename: S Melinda
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Spencer
authors.forename: Lisa C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: McGuire
authors.forename: Jack
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Goldberg
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.forename: Jeffrey A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Henderson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001130:Arizona; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007198:Indians, North American / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016901:Intergenerational Relations / Q000208:ethnology; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010287:Parent-Child Relations / Q000208:ethnology*; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013023:South Dakota; D055815:Young Adult