UF Study: Ailing Black Elders Can Count On Help From Family And Friends
GAINESVILLE, Fla.—Blacks are twice as likely as whites to care for their aging relatives, University of Florida researchers report.
The finding holds true even when factors such as economics, education, geography and health were ruled out, the two-year study reveals.
“These findings are in stark contrast to public images of the downfall of the black family in America,” said lead researcher Raymond T. Coward, director of the UF Institute for Gerontology.
Study findings were presented recently at the 49th Annual Scientific Meetings of the Gerontological Society of America in Washington, D.C.
In 1993, researchers began tracking 1,200 adults ages 65 and older living in urban and rural areas in Florida. From this group, they identified 192 elders who were in good health at the study’s start, but who experienced a decline during the two-year period.
“Black families were much more likely to provide help when the health of an older person made it difficult for them to prepare meals, wash dishes, shop for groceries or clean the house,” said Chuck W. Peek, a sociologist at UF’s College of Medicine and the study’s co-author. “About 75 percent of the time that black elders had a disability, they received care from family members. Among white elders, we found only half of those who had a functional limitation received care from family members.”
There were no differences between the two groups in the help they received from agencies and formal health care providers.
“Previous research suggested the help of family members was a vital part of an older person’s attempts to remain living independently,” Coward said. “Indeed, most older people who receive help from others for their health impairments depend on family members.”
Why blacks are more inclined to provide care for their elders is not yet clear, the researchers said. Cultural norms and values could be deciding factors.
Gainesville resident Denotra White, 64, is black and cares for her 83-year-old mother, Melvenia M. Robinson. White credits a strong religious background in making that decision.
“Putting my mother in a nursing home is a last resort,” said White, who retired from her job as a certified nursing assistant in Chicago to care for her mother. “I would only do that if her health was so bad I could not take care of her in my home. My mother has made many sacrifices to care for me and my 10 siblings. I believe actions speak louder than words and the bond between us is too great for me not to care for her.”
“Blacks coping with distress draw from a more varied pool of informal helpers than whites, both in middle and late life,” said, Rose C. Gibson, a University of Michigan professor and editor of the journal The Gerontologist. “Blacks are more versatile in substituting these helpers one for another as they approached old age.”
Researchers found no differences between older blacks and whites who needed help with basic personal care.
“There was no statistical difference between the groups when difficulties with tasks such as dressing, eating, walking and going to the toilet were experienced,” Peek said. “Unfortunately, 85 percent of elders who were having difficulty with personal care, both blacks and whites, weren’t receiving help from anybody, neither a family member nor a formal health-care provider. This is a major concern to us because these tasks are so basic to the quality of life of older people.”