CAREGIVERS FORMAL/INFORMAL SERVICE USE

随着世纪的临近和心脏病治疗的进展 疾病和中风意味着许多人现在存活更长时间， 老年人的增长速度越来越快。 其中一些 人们可能因为疾病和虚弱而需要护理， 强调需要了解护理模式的变化。 最 这种照顾是在社区提供的，有些是无偿提供的，通常是家庭提供的， 助手，被定义为非正式护理，有些是付费助手， 定义为正式护理。 正式和非正式混合的原因 服务很少被研究。 这一点尤其重要， 尊重种族差异，这在很大程度上被忽视了。 然而 资产、义务和态度的变化， 为老年人提供正式和非正式照顾的家庭决定 亲属无疑因种族而异。 回答研究问题的数据 这些问题将从俄亥俄州东北部的700个随机样本中收集 照顾者，平均分为黑人和白色，随机选择 数字拨号，然后在未来四年内亲自采访 纵向设计 将要求一部分护理人员保留 长达一个月的生活经历日记，以丰富调查结果， 定性的见解。 还将从以下方面获得回顾性数据： 以黑人和白色为主的患者亲属 养老院提供不同途径的信息， 几乎完全的正规护理。 这一三管齐下的办法规定， 数据收集的三角测量模型，这将有助于交叉-- 验证结果。 一个处理照顾者问题的创新模式 关于服务使用的决定将指导这项研究。

As the 21st century approaches and as advances in the treatment of heart disease and stroke mean many are now surviving longer, the number of persons in older age groups is increasingly rapidly. A number of these persons are likely to require care because of illness and frailty, highlighting the need to understand variations in care patterns. Most such care is given in the community, some by unpaid - usually family - helpers, which is defined as informal care, and some by paid assistants, defined as formal care. Reasons for the mix of formal and informal services have been little studied. This is particularly critical with respect to differences by race, which have been largely ignored. Yet variations in assets, obligations, and attitudes that are implicated in family decisions to provide formal and informal care for their aged relatives undoubtedly vary by race. Data to answer research questions on these issues will be collected from a random sample of 700 northeast Ohio caregivers, evenly divided between black and white, selected by random digit dialing, and then personally interviewed in a prospective four year longitudinal design. A subset of the caregivers will be asked to keep a month long diary of caregiving experiences, to enrich the findings with qualitative insights. Retrospective data will also be secured from relatives of patients in a predominantly black and a predominantly white nursing home to provide information on the different pathways to virtually complete formal care. This three-pronged approach provides for a triangulation model of data collection that will be useful in cross-- validating the results. An innovative model dealing with caregivers' decisions about service use will guide the study.