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Attitudes Toward Community-Based Services Among Japanese American Families

^a de Tornyay Center for Healthy Aging and Department of Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Systems, University of Washington
^b University of Washington Academic Medical Center Long Term Care Service, Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, WA
^c Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington

Correspondence: Heather M. Young, PhD, ARNP, FAAN, Department of Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Systems, Box 357266, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-7266. E-mail: younghm{at}u.washington.edu.

Decision Editor: Laurence G. Branch, PhD

Purpose: This descriptive study explored attitudes toward community-based long-term care services and factors influencing service utilization among Japanese American families. Design and Methods: Using grounded theory methodology, the Japanese American sample included 26 family caregivers, 4 persons receiving care, and 14 professional providers (n = 44). Results: Attitudes toward services were identified along six dimensions: ability to meet care needs, autonomy in daily life, quality of care and staff, cost, emotional connotations, and social and physical environment. Participants used formal services in a dynamic manner, meeting both episodic and chronic needs. Families played an active role in sustaining and augmenting the caregiving situation, regardless of living arrangement. Implications: This research highlights the range of criteria included in attitude formation about services and the dynamic nature of the interplay between families and formal services.

Key Words: Family caregiving • Decision making • Assisted living • Adult day care • Home care • Adult family homes