The Influence of Family Caregivers on Elder's Use of In-Home Services: An Expanded Conceptual Framework

Abstract

A wiedely-acknowledged deficiency in the Andersen model of service use is its neglect of family-related factors. Since gerontological researchers have established that family members are central to the care of the impaired aged, this void in the Andersen framework is particularly glaring when the elderly are the focus of study. In this investigation, the Andersen model is bifurcated to include predisposing, enabling and need characteristics of both the primary family caregiver and the elder care recipient. In addition, family-related enabling characteristics are used to represent the role of secondary kin caregivers in provision of the elder''s care. This research tests whether characteristics of the primary and secondary family caregivers influence the elder''s use of in-home nursing and aide services. Findings indicate that caregiver need characteristics account for significant variation in whether or not services are used, white family enabling factors are the most important predictors of the amount of services used.