Abstract
American Society on Aging stated that Latinx family caregivers have a high cultural commitment (75%) to caregiving which often cause them to disregard their health, thus increasing their risk of poor health outcomes. Studies have underscored adverse health effects of caregiving provision, especially when care recipients have dementia-related conditions. To alleviate the detrimental impact of caregiving, respite care services provide an opportunity for caregivers to have a break from caregiving roles. However, lack of access or underutilization of respite care services remains prevalent among Latinx family caregivers. Objective: Examine health outcomes associated with utilization of respite care services by race/ethnicity. Methods: Using the Long-Term Caregiving survey data conducted by the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research (N=1,024), we conducted logistic regression analysis adjusting for sex and household income relative to the utilization of respite care services by the caregivers of Latinx in contrast to the Whites caregivers. Results: Among caregivers that reported not utilizing respite care services, Latinx were less likely to have “excellent” overall health outcomes than their White counterparts (OR= 0.616, 95% CI: 0.390 - 0.972). African Americans (OR= 0.746, 95% CI: 0.421 - 1.321) and other racial groups had similar results regarding overall health outcomes when compared to the Whites (OR= 0.706, 95% CI: 0.388 - 1.283). No racial disparities relative to the overall health outcomes of caregivers were found among caregivers reporting using respite care services. Additional results include the association between low household income levels and poorer overall health outcomes. Sex showed no significant associations. Conclusion: Lack of utilization of respite care services is adversely affecting the overall health of Latinx family caregivers. Findings support efforts to increase access and utilization of respite care services among Latinx caregivers for health benefits.
