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Opportunity Costs Associated with Caring for Older Mexican-Americans

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Abstract

Long-term care use among older Mexican-Americans is poorly understood, despite the adverse effects on health and economic disadvantage in this vulnerable population. This study examines gender-based risk of long-term care use in 628 women and 391 men, age 70 and over in the 2000–2001 and 2004–2005 waves of the Hispanic Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly. Logistic regression models are employed to assess the impact of the opportunity cost implications of family support (kin availability and co-residence) relative to health care needs (quality-adjusted life years (QALY) weighted scores and functional limitations) on women’s risk of entry into a nursing home. A small percentage (~5 %) of men and women had entered a long-term care facility. Women had lower weights for QALY weights and greater disability than men, but on average were more likely to live with or in closer proximity to an adult child. Higher disability rates (p < 0.01) increased the risk of institutionalization regardless of gender because disability increases time burdens. Families with fewer adult children faced higher time burdens per child in caring for elderly parents; particularly for elderly mothers. Demographic trends suggest that the number of adult children available to share the caregiving load may decrease long-term care use.

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Acknowledgments

Funding support for this study was provided by a grant from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD), Grant #: R01MD005894 (P.I. Jacqueline L. Angel). This research was supported by the NIH National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities (#1 R01 MD005894-01) and the National Institute on Aging #(R01 AG10939-10).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Texas School of Public Health, Austin Regional Campus, Austin, TX, USA

    H. Shelton Brown III

  2. Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Angelica P. Herrera

  3. The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA

    Jacqueline L. Angel

  4. School of Public Health, Austin Regional Campus, UT Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living, 1616 Guadalupe, Suite 6.300, Austin, TX, 78701, USA

    H. Shelton Brown III

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  1. H. Shelton Brown III
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  2. Angelica P. Herrera
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  3. Jacqueline L. Angel
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Correspondence to H. Shelton Brown III.

Appendix

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Table 4 Quality-adjusted life years weights activity scale definitions by self-rated health and activity limitation
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Brown, H.S., Herrera, A.P. & Angel, J.L. Opportunity Costs Associated with Caring for Older Mexican-Americans. J Cross Cult Gerontol 28, 375–389 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10823-013-9208-3

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