The Cuban elderly and their service use.

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Sociology of Health
• Public Health Policy

Background:

• Limited empirical research exists on social service utilization among the elderly, particularly for specific demographic groups.
• Existing studies predominantly focus on health services, neglecting social services crucial for aging populations.
• Previous research on Hispanic elderly service use has been largely descriptive, lacking explanatory models.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a structural model predicting social service use among the Cuban elderly population.
• To identify key factors influencing social service utilization behavior in this specific aging demographic.
• To address the gap in research by moving beyond descriptive analyses to model-based explanations.

Main Methods:

• Path analysis was employed to evaluate the proposed model of social service use.
• The Andersen and Newman (1973) behavioral model framework was utilized to categorize study variables.
• Data were collected and analyzed to test the relationships between predisposing, enabling, and need factors and service use.

Main Results:

• Enabling factors, specifically awareness of social services and annual family income, significantly predicted social service use.
• Predisposing factors, including nativity, age, and age density, also demonstrated considerable predictive power.
• Need for social services was less influential in directly predicting service use compared to enabling and predisposing factors.

Conclusions:

• Social service utilization by the Cuban elderly is more strongly influenced by socioeconomic and demographic characteristics than by perceived need.
• The findings underscore the importance of addressing financial barriers and improving service awareness to enhance social service access for the elderly.
• The developed model provides a robust framework for understanding and potentially intervening in social service use patterns among aging Hispanic populations.