[Informal support systems for Puerto Rican elderly women: implications for the health care delivery system]

This article presents a qualitative analysis of the informal networks of support of older Puerto Rican women. It focuses on the support offered by adult children to their aged mothers. Cultural definitions about female and male roles affect the types of exchange that occur within the family. The elderly mothers expect and receive more help from their daughters than their sons. The daughters feel pleased by the fact that they are able to assist their mothers yet, many indicated that in certain occasions they feel stress.