Who’s Helping Whom? Examination of Care Arrangements for Racially and Ethnically Diverse People Living With Dementia in the Community

• Published in: Journal of applied gerontology Vol. 41; no. 12; pp. 2589 - 2593
• Main Authors: Parker, Lauren J., Fabius, Chanee
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.12.2022; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Aged; Aging; Black People; Black white differences; Caregivers; Caregiving; Chi-square test; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dementia; Families & family life; Family; Hispanic or Latino; Hispanic people; Humans; Independent Living; Multiculturalism & pluralism; Older people; Racial differences; Racial Groups; White People; care arrangements; community residing; caregiving; racial and ethnic differences
• ISSN: 0733-4648; 1552-4523
• DOI: 10.1177/07334648221120247

Objective: To address notions around care arrangements for Black and Hispanic people living with dementia (PLwD), the study examined if racial and ethnic differences exist for community-dwelling PLwD. Methods: Using cross-sectional data from the 2015 National Health and Aging Trends Study, we used Pearson’s chi-square and mean comparison to examine differences among a sample of n = 863 community-dwelling White, Black, and Hispanic older PLwD. Results: Black PLwD were less likely than White PLwD to use paid help (26.8% vs. 32.6%), but Hispanic PLwD were most likely to use paid help (46.2%, p < 0.05). Black and Hispanic older adults were more often receiving help from a child (65.8% and 72.2%, respectively; p = 0.01) or other family member (40.3% and 31.0%, respectively; p < 0.01). Discussion: Our findings highlight the important role of familial support in care provision for Black and Hispanic communities. Caregiving supports should be intentional in centering services on the family, not a sole caregiver.