IN-HOME AND COMMUNITY-BASED SERVICE UTILIZATION BY 3 GROUPS OF ELDERLY HISPANICS - A NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

Using data from the 1988 National Survey of Hispanic Elderly People, this study examines among- and within-group needs and in-home and community-based service utilization by Mexican American, Cuban American, and Puerto Rican elderly people. The authors present a profile of the three groups and use logistic regression modeling to determine the predisposing, enabling, and needs-for-care factors associated with the utilization of each type of service. Needs for care were the strongest predictor of in-home service utilization, and enabling factors were the strongest predictor of community-based service utilization. Implications for social work practice and policies to improve access and utilization of services by Hispanic elderly people ore discussed.