Acculturation and attitudes of Latinos toward hospice.
Item
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Title
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Acculturation and attitudes of Latinos toward hospice.
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Identifier
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AAI3245054
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identifier
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3245054
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Creator
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Colon, Merydawilda.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Michael J. Smith
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Date
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2007
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Social Work | Hispanic American Studies
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Abstract
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This study investigated the relationship between acculturation and attitudes of Latinos toward hospice. The study is based on a sample of 380 Latinos from various nationalities in attendance at a Latino Festival celebrated in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The respondents completed a questionnaire on attitudes toward hospice and a bidimensional acculturation scale. The median age of participants was 34.5. Three study hypotheses related to acculturation and attitudes of Latinos toward hospice were tested. Findings revealed that acculturation and attitudes of Latinos toward hospice had no relationship. However, two sociodemographic variables, education and income, had a significant correlation with attitudes toward hospice, although education appeared to have a stronger correlation than income. Overall, more than half (57%, n = 207) of participants had not heard the word "hospice" before. Whether study participants had previous knowledge about the word "hospice" was also found to be a significant influence on attitudes of Latinos toward hospice: participants who had previous knowledge about the word "hospice" had more positive attitudes toward hospice than those who had not heard it. In bivariate analyses, the sociodemographic variables of age, income, education, and nationality were found to influence whether Latinos had previous knowledge about the word "hospice." At the multivariate level, using discriminant function analysis, income, education, and age emerged as significant variables; nationality did not emerge as a significant variable in that model. Findings suggested that participants who had heard the word "hospice" before had a higher household income, had more years of education, and were older. Findings also revealed the spiritual component of hospice and family involvement as sources of motivation to use hospice care. Most participants agreed that they would want hospice to help their families take care of them, although participants were ambivalent about the role of family in the election of hospice services. Most participants agreed with informing the patient about a terminal medical condition, which may indicate receptiveness to hospice care. Additionally, there was confusion about whether lack of money would prevent hospice care. Overall, these findings suggest that Latinos have some attitudes that may make them receptive to hospice care.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
