Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Monetary Value of Informal Caregiving for Non-Institutionalized People Living With Dementia

Abstract

Objective To examine racial and ethnic differences in costs of informal caregiving among older adults with dementia in the United States. Methods We used data from the 2002 to 2018 Health and Retirement Survey to estimate annual informal care hours for adults with dementia ( n = 10,015). We used regression models to examine racial and ethnic differences in hours of informal care for activities of daily living (ADL) and instrumental ADL, controlling for demographic characteristics, education, and level of disability. Results Our sample was 70% non-Hispanic White, 19% non-Hispanic Black, and 11% Hispanic. Hispanics received, on average, 35.8 hours of informal care each week, compared to 30.1 for Blacks and 20.1 for Whites. Racial and ethnic differences persisted when controlling for covariates. Discussion Informal care is a greater cost to racial and ethnic minoritized families. Informal care was valued at a replacement cost of $44,656 for Hispanics, $37,508 for Blacks, and $25,121 for Whites.