Racial Differences in Family Burden

Abstract

This article examines the clinical implications for social work practice of the differential impact of caregiving strain according to race. Data for this report is drawn from a study of 810 patients in a community-based geriatric assessment center. Although this research found no essential difference, based on race, in the experience of family burden as a social problem, there was a difference within the interaction of race and the care for an elderly person with Alzheimer's disease. The authors suggest a classification scheme of specific interventions for different caregiving groups and subgroups, based on both race and relationship; these selected variables can provide more insight into possible vulnerable caregiving conditions.