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Health Needs of the Hispanic Elderly
Author(s) -
LOPEZAQUERES WALDO,
KEMP BRYAN,
PLOPPER MICHAEL,
STAPLES FRED R.,
BRUMMELSMITH KENNETH
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
journal of the american geriatrics society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.992
H-Index - 232
eISSN - 1532-5415
pISSN - 0002-8614
DOI - 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1984.tb02001.x
Subject(s) - medicine , referral , depression (economics) , population , gerontology , health care , demography , family medicine , environmental health , sociology , economics , macroeconomics , economic growth
This paper presents results of a study concerning the health care needs of the Hispanic elderly population of Los Angeles County. By use of the Comprehensive Assessment and Referral Evaluation (CARE) instrument, data on a sample of 704 subjects were employed to compute the scores for 22 Likert‐type scales measuring the prevalence of numerous psychiatric, medical, and social problems. The data indicate that older Hispanics were affected by cognitive impairment (13.8 per cent), depression/demoralization (30.8 per cent), heart disorders (12.8 per cent), stroke effects (11.5 per cent), arthritis (28.3 per cent), hypertension (23.7 per cent), financial hardship (28.0 per cent), fear of crime (38.4 per cent), ambulation problems (17.2 per cent), or activity limitation (24.7 per cent); they also needed assistance (19.3 per cent) or used social services (22.0 per cent). Further analysis revealed that the prevalence of many of these problems varies significantly according to the age, sex, language, and income of respondents. The indicators of health care needs used in the study differed substantially from the more traditional measures based on the person's own perception of his or her health.