STRAIN IN AFRICAN-AMERICAN AND WHITE AMERICAN CAREGIVERS OF HOSPITALIZED ELDERLY - IMPLICATIONS FOR DISCHARGE PLANNING

This study investigated the relationship between race and strain in fa mily caregivers of hospitalized older patients. Data came from a sampl e of 176 African American and 194 White American caregivers who were i dentified as part of a prospective study of changes in functional stat us of older hospitalized patients, When interaction terms were added t o a multivariate model assessing the relationship between race and str ain, race lost its significant influence on strain. Instead; its combi nation with two other variables-being an adult child caregiver and bei ng married-emerged as important correlates. Being an adult child had d eleterious consequences for White caregivers, whereas being married ha d advantageous consequences for African American caregivers. Findings emphasize the need to reevaluate how the race variable is used in futu re research and the need for hospital staff to be sensitive to racial diversity when working with families to plan for older patients' disch arge.