COMMON HEALTH-PROBLEMS AMONG MINORITY ELDERS

This article reviews the primary health problems of African-American, Hispanic-American, Asian/Pacific Islander-American, and Native-America n elders. The goal is to familiarize practicing dietitians with the di fferences in longevity, disease spectrum, and functional status (where data are available) for each of these ethnic groups. These data shoul d be of assistance in making decisions regarding dietary counseling fo r ethnic elders. It is acknowledged that most data accumulated accordi ng to race do not accurately measure ethnicity. The degree of accultur ation may vary widely among individuals. Therefore, it is recommended that dietitians solicit clients' perceptions of the factors that may c ontribute to illness and the barriers to implementing recommended reme dies.