A Comparison of the Social Service Utilization Behavior of the Cuban and Puerto Rican Elderly

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Abstract
The utilization of health services by the elderly has been widely studied. However, research on the use of social services has resulted in mixed findings. Furthermore, little empirical data exist that compare the utilization behavior of Spanish-speaking elderly groups. This study tests and compares models of social service utilization by the Cuban and Puerto Rican elderly. The model employed in this study proposes that use of services results from the individual and combined effects of groups of independent variables which can be categorized as Need, Enabling, and Predisposing factors. Results showed that the variables that directly predict the use of services, for the most part, are different between the Hispanic groups (ie., the need variables are better predictors of use among the Cuban elderly, whereas the enabling and predisposing variables are betterpredictors among the Puerto Rican elderly). The results underscore the need to view the Hispanic elderly population as a diverse and heterogeneous group in the development of social policies and programs and in future research efforts.