Posts Tagged: homes
Special Considerations for Latinos Seeking Elder Care
Government statistics show that Hispanics have a life expectancy of 82 years, longer than non-Hispanic white Americans (78.7 years) and non-Hispanic black Americans (75.1 years). Hispanic women have a life expectancy of 84.3 years. However, according to a poll conducted by Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, fewer than two out of every 10 Hispanics age 40 and older say they are extremely confident that nursing homes and assisted living facilities can meet their needs
Experts believe that the lack of confidence in these facilities stems from two major factors. First, in Latino culture, the social norm discourages the delegation of care for older relatives to outsiders. Second, there is a lack of high-quality providers for this population. Additionally, cultural and language barriers complicate the rendering of appropriate daily care to this growing population.
Nevertheless, according to a Brown University study involving 10 large metropolitan cities, Latinos are entering nursing homes at a growing rate. From 1999 to 2008, the number of elderly Hispanics living in U.S. nursing homes rose by 54.9 percent, while the number of whites decreased by 10 percent. The aging Hispanic/Latino population is expected to grow more rapidly than other ethnic minority group by 2028 and experts say it has grown and will continue to grow,3.9 percent per year from 1990 to 2050.
At first blush the analysis suggests that elderly blacks, Hispanics, and Asians are gaining greater access to nursing home care. Unfortunately, however, the growing proportion of minorities in nursing homes is resulting partly because they do not have the same access to more desirable forms of care as wealthier whites do, said the study's lead author Zhanlian Feng. “We know those alternatives are not equally available, accessible, or affordable to everybody, certainly not to many minority elders,” he said.
This phenomenon makes it crucial for Latinos to become educated on how nursing homes and assisted living facilities operate. Language barriers and unfamiliarity with the American legal system often leave individuals within this community in the dark regarding their loved ones' rights while residents at skilled nursing facilities. They often sign lengthy contracts that are not translated into their native tongue. And, when something terrible occurs, many do not understand how contingency fee plaintiffs' attorneys charge for their services. They often tolerate less than adequate treatment because they believe that even speaking with an attorney will cost money they do not have. Or they feel intimidated by the thought of having to explain their complex situation to an attorney that doesn't speak their language, when they only have basic proficiency in English.
Source: Published originally on The National Law Review , Special Considerations for Latinos Seeking Elder Care, by Alex J. Fajardo on October 23, 2017. COPYRIGHT © 2017, STARK & STARK
Hispanic Influence Reaches New Heights in the U.S.
From the Ballot Box to the Grocery Store, Nielsen's fifth report on the Latino consumer in the annual Diverse Intelligence Series, shows that Hispanic power and influence is surging: 50% of U.S. population growth from 2010 to 2015 has come from Hispanics, and the U.S. Census expects the U.S. Latino population to more than double within the next two generations.
Almost 57 million strong, Hispanics represent almost 18% of the U.S. population, and they're expected to continue showing growth, reaching 24% of the population by 2040 and 29% by 2060. Despite slowing immigration and reduced birth rates, Hispanics will drive the majority of all U.S. future growth for the foreseeable future. The U.S. Census projects Latinos to account for a full 65% of the nation's population growth over the next 45 years. This means the U.S. Latino population will more than double, adding 62 million people, and will reach more than 119 million people by 2060.
Meanwhile, the compound effect of Hispanic growth and the decline of the non-Hispanic white population due to aging and lower birth rates will result in non-Hispanic whites declining from 62% of the total population in 2015 to 44% by 2060; their contribution to total growth will decline by 17% from 2015 to 2060.
Two Languages Are Better Than One
Younger generations of Hispanics (under age 55) are predominantly bilingual, and with each new generation, more English-dominant. Currently, 40.6 million Hispanics over the age of 5 speak English well, and 96% of Hispanics under 18 are either bilingual or English-dominant. In total, 55% of Hispanics are bilingual, while 27% are English-dominant and 19% are Spanish-dominant. Spanish is still spoken by many of the English-dominant speakers, however, and the growing importance of Spanish makes dual-language competence a benefit for marketers in mainstream America.
Sixty-three percent of Spanish-dominant Hispanics are age 35 and older, compared with only 4% of those under age 18. Over half (58%) of Hispanics under 18 are bilingual. Despite increasing proficiency in English, messaging in Spanish and in-culture is still very relevant to younger generations.
Hispanic Buying Power Growth Outpaces the Total Population
In 2015, Hispanics controlled $1.3 trillion in buying power, an amount larger than the GDP of Australia or Spain, according the Selig Center for Economic Growth, up 167% since the turn of the century. The increase is more than twice the 76% growth in non-Hispanic buying power during the same period. The center's projections show U.S. Hispanic buying power continuing this trend, reaching $1.7 trillion by 2020.
Latinas have made the most dramatic gains in education, as college enrollment rates among female Hispanics graduating from high school now outpace both non-Hispanic whites and African-Americans. Seventy-four percent of Latinas who graduated high school in 2012-2014 are now enrolled in college, higher than non-Hispanic whites (73%) and African-Americans (65%), according to the National Center for Education Statistics. The higher education level is helping drive positive economic results, including rising household income and greater household expenditures.
According to U.S. Census data, the average Hispanic household income had increased to $42,396 in 2014 from $40,946 in 2009, and the percentage of Hispanics with a household income greater than $50,000 increased to 43% in 2014 from 30% in 2000. Additionally, income levels for both U.S.-born and foreign-born households have increased; U.S.-born households with incomes exceeding $50,000 increased to 48% in 2014 from 33% in 2000, while foreign-born households with incomes exceeding $50,000 increased to 38% from 26%.
Source:Published originally on Nielsen.com. Hispanic Influence Reaches New Heights in the U.S., August 23, 2016.
As Latinos age, the need for Spanish-speaking caretakers grows
“It's necessary to help her with everything: bathing her, dressing her, feeding her,” said her husband, Luis Sierra. “It's very hard.”
Latinos are the fastest growing group of people 65 and older in the U.S. today. And the number of elderly Latinos with dementia is growing, too. Already, there aren't enough bilingual, bicultural services to go around. That means increasingly, Latinos are going to have to leave work and other responsibilities to care for ailing family members.
Luis Sierra was already retired when his wife started to need care. That's not typically the case, said Caroline Gelman, a social worker who does research on Latinos and Alzheimer's at Hunter College in New York.
“While most caregivers for other groups, particularly white groups, tend to be the spouse, in Latino populations, they often are adult children,” Gelman explained. “That means that they have many competing obligations: work, their own families, their own children.”
A Met Life study found that caregivers 50 and older who leave the work force to care for a family member lose about $300,000 in income and benefits over a lifetime. To keep working, caregivers need adult daycare for their relatives, counseling, and other services. But those often aren't available in Spanish, Gelman says.
“The service doesn't exist so people aren't using it so they're finding other ways of supplementing the care that they need,” Gelman said. “Then the policymakers can say, ‘See, they use their families. They don't need this help.'”
That's changing. Both the Alzheimer's Association and the Latino Alzheimer's Alliance are starting bilingual support groups and other programs across the country. That also saves the healthcare system money, because it's cheaper to care for people in their own homes.
For the past two years, an in-home health care aide who speaks Spanish has come by the Sierras' apartment every day. Luis Sierra that's better than putting his wife in a nursing home. “It makes my wife happy to be surrounded by people telling her they love her,” Sierra said.
It's hard to put a dollar value on that.
Source: Published originally on Marketplace Morning Report as As Latinos age, the need for Spanish-speaking caretakers growsby Eilis O'Neill, November 11, 2015.
More Latino families choosing nursing homes
In the last decade, minorities have poured into nursing homes at a time when whites have left in even greater numbers. According to researchers, the growing proportion of minorities in nursing homes is occurring partly because they do not have the same access to more desirable forms of care as wealthier whites do.
The study shows that between 1999 and 2008 the nation’s nursing home population shrank by 6.1 percent to just over 1.2 million people. The number of whites in nursing homes decreased by 10.2 percent nationwide, while the number of Hispanics rose by 54.9 percent
The researchers found that the representation of blacks, Hispanics and Asians in nursing homes increased as their share of elderly in the total population increased. In Los Angeles/Long Beach, the increases were 1 percent for blacks, 41 percent for Hispanics and 56 percent among Asians.
According to National Family Caregivers Association, the use of outside care-giving services among Latinos in the past five years has also risen. Home care provider services are growing and are becoming a preferred option among families who have the available resources.
The researchers found that Hispanic elderly are more likely than whites to live in nursing homes of poor quality. These residences are often faced with structural problems, staffing issues and financial trouble.
The loss of home caregivers is occurring even as the growth of the elderly Hispanic population rises dramatically. The researchers estimate there are 4.5 million Hispanic elderly in 2010.
Source: Brown University, New disparity in nursing homes: Whites leave, minorities enter, July 7, 2012.
For many U.S. Latinos, biculturalism is key to self-identity
Many U.S. Hispanics feel culturally connected to both their U.S. and Latino identities, according to the annual FOCUS: Latino report.
The study finds that, when asked to rate on a scale of 1-5 whether they identified themselves as “completely Latino” or “completely American,” 18 percent of Hispanics identify themselves as “completely American,” 43 percent as completely Latino, and four in ten (39 percent) feel they are a mix of both.
These data correlate to acculturation markers like language use in the home. Latinos in bilingual homes are, concomitantly, more likely to be bicultural. Four in ten Hispanics in English-oriented homes (where mostly/only English is spoken) consider themselves both Latino and American, and a full 16 percent of those heads of household define themselves as “completely Latino.”
At the same time, bicultural Latinos do not necessarily only live in bilingual homes: Almost one-quarter of bicultural Latino heads of household live in Spanish-dominant homes; one-third live in English-oriented homes.
Latinos identifying themselves as bicultural spend the majority of their TV viewing time– 72 percent — with English language TV and 28 percent with Spanish language programming. Yet Spanish language TV remains important: Four in ten bicultural Latinos watch TV in Spanish at least every other day. And, programming in English targeted to Latinos is quickly gaining ground, with 20 percent of biculturals watching at least weekly.
Source: Hispanic Market Facts/Research, New Study: Focus Latino Report Reveals That Many U.S. Latinos, Biculturalism is Key to Self-Identity, July 8, 2011.
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