Race Differences in Characteristics and Experiences of Black and White Caregivers of Older Americans

Abstract

Background and Objectives Racial disparities in health and socioeconomic characteristics of older adults have implications for the experiences of their family and unpaid caregivers, but knowledge to date has primarily drawn from convenience samples. Using a population-based sample, we examine associations between caregiver race and caregiving-related effects. Research Design and Methods Study participants include white (n = 992) and black (n = 556) respondents to the 2015 National Study of Caregiving who assisted community-dwelling older adults with disabilities who participated in the National Health and Aging Trends Study. Guided by Pearlin’s Stress Process Model, hierarchical logistic regression models were constructed to examine race differences in caregiving-related effects after adjusting for caregiving context, stressors, and resources. Results Relative to white caregivers, blacks more often provided in excess of 40 hr of care per week (54.3% vs 38.6%) and more often cared for an older adult with dementia (27.1% vs 20.7%) who was living below the federal poverty line (31.7% vs 11.9%) or was Medicaid-eligible (42.2% vs 11.8%). Black caregivers more often used supportive services (32.9% vs 24.8%). In fully adjusted regression models, black caregivers were more likely to report gains and less likely to report emotional difficulty than whites. Service utilization did not attenuate caregiving-related emotional difficulty or participation restrictions, regardless of race. Discussion and Implications Findings highlight caregiving disparities and counterintuitive differences in experiences and indicate the importance of identifying supports such as paid family leave and faith and community-based programming to better support community-dwelling low-income older adults and their family and unpaid caregivers.

Employee Perceptions on Ethics, Racial-Ethnic and Work Disparities in Long-Term Care: Implications for Ethics Committees

“…Rather, robust ethics scoring would suggest little, if any, substantial differences among racial-ethnic groups. As noted by Truitt and Snyder (2020), racial diversity would be affirmed, in contrast to the racial differences reported by Fabius (2020), and as these study findings confirm. Likewise, robust ethics sites might be described as culturally competent, exhibiting respect, for example; the latter, critical for long-term care and desired (Zhang et al 2014).…”

“…Likewise, workers’ relationships with supervisors were important for plans to remain at work, or retention (Stone et al 2016 ; Galleta and Sparks 2012 ). These challenges, including racial and job disparities, highlighted the need to identify desirable long-term care places where employees felt good about their work (Edwards 2005 ; Fabius et al 2020 ). Moreover, these results demonstrated the identified need for ethics analyses in long-term care, affirmed by Seavy ( 2004 ) and Lesandrini ( 2016 ) and found in this paper.…”

“…In tandem with focus on staffing, a nuanced examination of the health workforce found, overall, it was becoming increasingly diverse (Snyder et al 2018 ). Notably, persons of color were frequently represented among entry-level occupations; CNAs often identified as persons of color (Fabius et al 2020 ). Truitt and Snyder ( 2020 ) found CNAs working in long-term sites experienced subtle and not so subtle workplace racism, emanating from supervisors, peers, and residents and leading to work stress.…”

2021 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures

“…Black caregivers are more likely than White caregivers to report positive aspects of caregiving 390 . A meta‐analysis found that Black dementia caregivers indicate slightly higher psychological well‐being than White dementia caregivers.…”

“…Caregiving for individuals with Alzheimer's or other dementias differs between racial and ethnic groups too. These differences include the time spent on caregiving, cultural perceptions of the burden of caregiving, whether social networks provide support, and the psychological well‐being of the caregiver 384–388,390 …”