The aims of the study are to: (1) refine 2 instruments and (2) test a theoretical model that predicts use of home care services (HCS) by Mexican Americans (MA) elders. MA elders, the fastest growing group of elders in the US are more functionally impaired at younger ages than either Anglo elders or elders in other Hispanic groups. However, MA elders use HCS, an intervention that may forestall impairment, disturbingly less than other groups. Studies show elders who use HCS have better outcomes than those who do not. The Principal Investigator's long-term interest in community-based interventions to improve elders' functional ability, decrease caregiving burden, and avoid costly hospitalizations of elders; published research; and five preliminary studies inform the proposed measures and model that predict MA elders' use of HCS more comprehensively than previous research. The model posits that use of HCS is predicted by MA elder and their family caregiver (CG) factors.
Aim 1 (N=30) will be accomplished through psychometric and content validity testing procedures to determine the language equivalence of the Service Awareness Scale and 2 scales of the Community Service Attitude Inventory (CSAI) and the content validity of the CSAI scales.
Aim 2 (N=300) will be accomplished by testing the predicted relationships among variables. The hypotheses are: (1) Use of HCS is positively affected by MA elder Health Event Trajectory, MA elder/CG Confidence in HCS, and negatively affected by MA elder Functional Ability and MA elder /CG Impression Management; and (2) Confidence in HCS is positively affected by MA elder/CG Acculturation and negatively affected by MA elder/CG Expectations of Familism and Perceptions of Experiences of Discrimination. Logistic regression will test the relationships among variables as hypothesized in the proposed model. Results of this study will inform interventions to reduce disparities and achieve health equity for MA elders and their family caregivers.
