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Cited by 178Intergenerational Family Dynamics and CaregivingNursing care and researchAging, Elder Care, and Social Issues

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

Open access
Fabius, Chanee D, Wolff, Jennifer L, Kasper, Judith D·2020·The Gerontologist
DOI 10.1093/geront/gnaa042PMC PMC7491434
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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.

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  • Black dementia caregivers are more likely than White dementia, White non-dementia, and Black non-dementia caregivers to provide help with activities of daily living.

    “Black dementia caregivers are also more likely to provide help with ADLs than White dementia, White non-dementia, and Black non-dementia caregivers.420,421”

    From 2023 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures (2023) · cites this paper as [420]

    The Results report that Black caregivers were more likely than White caregivers overall to provide 40 or more hours of care per week, and that Black care recipients were more likely to have probable dementia. The Care Recipient Characteristics section describes measuring assistance with self-care, but the paper does not report the claimed ADL-help comparison among Black dementia, White dementia, White non-dementia, and Black non-dementia caregivers. Page numbers were not available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.78)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Black dementia caregivers are more likely to provide help with ADLs than White dementia, White non-dementia and Black non-dementia caregivers.

    “Black dementia caregivers are also more likely to provide help with ADLs than White dementia, White non‐dementia and Black non‐dementia caregivers.”

    From 2024 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures (2024) · cites this paper as [454]

    The Results report that Black caregivers provided more hours of care than White caregivers, and that Black older care recipients were more likely to have probable dementia. The Care Recipient Characteristics section measures help with self-care and mobility, but neither passage establishes the claimed ADL-help comparison across the four race-by-dementia groups. (LLM, conf=0.82)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Black caregivers are more likely than White caregivers to report positive aspects of caregiving.

    “For example, Black caregivers are more likely than White caregivers to report positive aspects of caregiving.420”

    From 2023 Alzheimer's disease facts and figures (2023) · cites this paper as [420]

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Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. [1]1. ACL Administration for Community Living. (n.d.). RAISE Family Caregiving Advisory Council. ACL Administration for Community Living. Retrieved from https://acl.gov/programs/ support-caregivers/raise-family-caregiving-advisory-council Administration for Community Living. (2019). National Family Care giver Support Program. Retrieved from https://acl.gov/programs/ support-caregivers/national-family-caregiver-support-program
  2. [2]2. Alliance, F. C. (2006). National Consensus Report on Caregiver Assessment: Volume II, Voices and Views from the Field. Report from a National Consensus Development Conference (Vol. II). San Francisco: Author. Retrieved from http://www.caregiver.org/ caregiver/jsp/content_node.jsp?nodeid=1677
  3. [14]14. DeMatteis, J., Freedman, V. A., & Kasper, J. D. (2016). National Health and Aging Trends study round 5 sample design and se lection (NHATS Technical Paper #16). pp. 1-10. Retrieved from www.nhats.org

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Authors
Fabius, C. D., Wolff, J. L., & Kasper, J. D.
Affiliations
Johns Hopkins University (US)
Corresponding author
Fabius, Chanee D
ORCID
Venue
The Gerontologist
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
2020-05-13
Volume
60
Issue
7
Pages
1244-1253
ISSN
  • 0016-9013 (ISSN-L)
  • 1758-5341
DOI
10.1093/geront/gnaa042
PMC
PMC7491434
OpenAlex
W3024212446
Cited by
178
References
41
Citations by year
2026: 20 · 2025: 42 · 2024: 34 · 2023: 22 · 2022: 43 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 1
FWCI
27.42
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
academic.oup.com/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_model (vor)
Locations
  • The Gerontologist (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
National Institute on Aging (R01AG047859, R01AG054004, U01AG032947)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Pharmacy › Nursing care and research
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Aging, Elder Care, and Social Issues
Keywords
racial disparities, informal caregivers, family caregiving, Black caregivers, older adults with disabilities, dementia caregiving, participation restrictions, support services, low-income elderly, Medicaid eligibility, poverty, paid family leave, community-based support programs
MeSH terms
Race Factors, Aged, Disabled Persons, Persons with Disabilities, Humans, United States, Caregivers, Independent Living

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