Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gxg78 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-24T19:05:01.234Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The Linkages between Informal and Formal Care of the Elderly*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2010

Margaret Denton
Affiliation:
McMaster University

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to report research findings from a study of the nature of the relationship between informal and formal care of the elderly. There are several explanations for the link between informal and formal care: the task specific model, the compensatory model, the substitution model, the supplementary model, and the complementary model (which combines both the compensatory and supplementary functions of formal care). These explanations were evaluated using data from the 1985 General Social Survey for those aged 65 and older who have functional disabilities. Data were analysed using logistic regression analysis. The findings show support for the complementary function of formal care. The data indicate that formal care compensates for the absence of a spouse or child and, in a minority of cases, supplements work of the spouse or child caregiver for personal care tasks and to a lesser extent housework. Of these two, the compensatory effect of formal care appears to be more prevalent than the supplemental effect.

Résumé

Cet article résume les résultats d'une recherche sur la nature des relations entre les soins officiels et officieux accordés aux aînés. Le hen entre les deux types de soins s'explique de diverses façons: le modèle rélie à la tâche, le modèle compensatoire, le modèle de substitution, le modèle supplémentaire et le modèle complémentaire (regroupant à la fois le modeèle compensatoire et les fonctions supplémentaires des soins officiels). Les explications ont été évaluées en fonction de données de l'Enquête sociale générate de 1985 concernant les personnes de 65 ans et plus ayant une invalidité fonctionnelle. On a évalué les données par analyse de régression logistique. Les résultats accordent la faveur à la fonction complémentaire des soins officiels. Selon les données, les soins officiels compensent l'absence de conjoint ou d'enfant et, dans certains cas restreints, remplacent le conjoint ou l'enfant soignant en matière de soins personnels et, dans une moindre mesure, sur le plan des tâches domestiques. Entre les deux, l'effet compensatoire des soins officiels semble primer l'effet de supplément.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 1997

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bass, D.M., & Noelker, L.S. (1987). The influence of family caregivers on elder's use of in-home services. An expanded conceptual framework. Journal of Health & Social Behaviour, 28, 184196.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Béland, F. (1989). Patterns of health and social service utilization. Canadian Journal on Aging, 8(1), 1933.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Biegel, D.E., & Blum, A. (1990). Aging and Caregiving. London: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Branch, L.G., & Jette, A.M. (1983). Elders' use of informal long-term care assistance. The Gerontologist, 23, 5166.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brody, E.M. (1985). Parent care as a normative family stress. The Gerontologist, 25, 1929.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cantor, M.H. (1979). Neighbours and friends, an overlooked resource in the informal support system. Research on Aging, 1, 434463.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cantor, M.H. (1983). Strain among caregivers, a study of the experiences in the United States. The Gerontologist, 23, 597604.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cantor, M.H. (1991). Family and community, changing roles in an aging society. The Gerontologist, 31, 337346.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chappell, N.L. (1985). Social support and the receipt of home care services. The Gerontologist, 25, 4754.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chappell, N.L. (1989). Linkages between informal and formal support. In Markides, K.S. & Cooper, C.L. (Eds.), Aging, Stress & Health (pp. 219237). John Wiley & Sons Ltd.Google Scholar
Chappell, N.L., & Blandford, A. (1991). Informal and formal care: Exploring the complementarity. Ageing and Society, 11, 299315.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chappell, N.L. (1992). Informal Support and Aging. Toronto: Butterworth's.Google Scholar
Connidis, I. (1983). Living arrangement choices of older residents. Canadian Journal of Sociology, 8, 359375.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edelman, P. (1986). The impact of community care to the homebound elderly on provision of informal care. The Gerontologist, 26, 263274.Google Scholar
Edelman, P., & Hughes, S.P. (1990). The impact of community care on provision of informal care to homebound elderly persons. Journal of Gerontology, Social Sciences, 45, S574S584.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Frederiks, C., & Te-Wierik, M.J. (1990). The functional status and utilization of care of elderly people living at home. Journal of Community Health, 15, 307317.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gallager, D., Lovett, S., & Zeiss, A. (1988). Interventions with caregivers of frail older persons. In Ory, M. & Bond, K. (Eds.), Aging and Health Care, Social Science and Policy Perspectives. New York: Tavistock.Google Scholar
George, L. (1989). Stress, social support and depression over the life course. In Markides, K.S. & Cooper, C.L. (Eds.), Aging, Stress and Health. John Wiley & Sons Ltd.Google Scholar
Hooyman, N.R. (1990). Women as caregivers of the elderly implications for social welfare policy and practice. In Biegel, D.E. & Blum, A. (Eds.), Aging and Caregiving (pp. 221241). London: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Kemper, P., Applebam, R.A., & Harrigan, M. (1990). Community care demonstrations: What have we learned. Health Care Financing Review, 9, 87110.Google Scholar
Lee, G.R. (1985). Kinship and social support: The case of the United States. Ageing and Society, 5, 1938.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Litwak, E. (1985). Helping the Elderly, The Complementary Roles of Informal Networks and Formal Systems. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Logan, J.R., & Spitze, G. (1994). Informal support and the use of formal services by older Americans. Journal of Gerontology, Social Sciences, 49, S25S34.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Marshall, V.W., Rosenthal, C., & Synge, J. (1983). Concerns about parental health. In Markson, E. (Ed.), Older Women. Lexington & Toronto: D.C. Heath.Google Scholar
Norusis, M.J. (1990). SPSS/PC+ Advanced Statistics 4.0. Chicago: SPSS Inc.Google Scholar
Pedhazur, E. (1982). Multiple Regression in Behaviourial Research, Explanation & Prediction. New York: Holt, Rhinehart & Winston.Google Scholar
Penning, M.J. (1990). Receipt of assistance by elderly people-hierarchical selection and task specificity. The Gerontologist, 30, 220227.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Penning, M.J., & Chappell, N.L. (1990). Self care in relation to informal and formal care. Ageing and Society, 10, 4159.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Qureshi, H., & Walker, A. (1986). Caring for elderly people: The family and state. In Phillipson, C. & Walker, A. (Eds.), Ageing and Social Policy A Critical Assessment (pp. 109127). Aldershot, England: Gower.Google Scholar
Qureshi, H., & Walker, A. (1987). The Caring Relationship. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.Google Scholar
Shanas, E. (1979). The family as a social support system in old age. The Gerontologist, 19, 19692074.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Soldo, B.J., Wolf, D.A., & Agree, E.M. (1990). Family, households and care arrangements of frail older women, A structural analysis. Journal of Gerontology, Social Sciences, 45, S238249.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Statistics Canada. (1987). Health and Social Support, 1985,. GSS Analysis Series. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. 11612, No. 1.Google Scholar
Statistics Canada. (1991). General Social Survey Features and Status Report. Ottawa: Statistics Canada.Google Scholar
Stoller, E.P. (1989). Formal services and informal helping. The myth of service substitution. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 8, 3752.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stoller, E.P., & Earl, L.L. (1983). Help with activities of everyday life: Sources of support of the noninstitutionalized elderly. The Gerontologist, 23, 6474.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stoller, E.P., & Pugliesi, K.L. (1988). Informal networks of community based elderly. Research in Aging, 10, 499516.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stone, R., Cafferata, G.L., & Sangl, J. (1987). Caregivers of the frail elderly, A national profile. The Gerontologist, 27, 616626.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Strain, L.A. (1991). Use of health services in later life, The influence of health beliefs. Journal of Gerontology, Social Sciences, 46, S143S150.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tennstedt, S.L., McKinlay, J.B., & Sullivan, L.M. (1989). Informal care for frail elders: The role of secondary caregivers. The Gerontologist, 29, 677683.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tobin, S., & Kulys, R. (1981). The family and the institutionalization of the elderly. Journal of Social Issues, 37, 145157.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walker, A. (1991). The relationship between the family and the state in the care of older people. Canadian Journal on Aging, 10(2), 94112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolinsky, F.D., Aguire, B.E., Fann, L.J., Keith, V.M., Arnold, C.L., Niederhauer, J.C., & Dietrich, K. (1989). Ethnic differences in the demand for physicians and hospital utilization among older adults in major American cities: Conspicuous Evidence of considerable inequalities. Milbank Quarterly, 67, 412449.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed