Improving care for the older population is a growing clinical need in the United States. Ageism and other attitudes of healthcare professionals can negatively impact care for older adults. This study investigated healthcare professionals’ (N = 140) views towards aging and characterized a confluence of factors influencing ageism perspectives in healthcare workers using path analysis models. These models proposed relationships between aging anxiety, expectations regarding aging, age, ageism, and knowledge. Aging anxiety had a less critical role in the final model than hypothesized and influenced ageism in healthcare workers through its negative effect ($\beta$ = −0.27) on expectations regarding aging. In contrast, aging knowledge ($\beta$ = −0.23), age ($\beta$ = −0.27), and expectations regarding aging ($\beta$ = −0.48) directly and inversely influenced ageism. Increased knowledge about the aging process could lower ageism amongst healthcare professionals and improve care for older adults. The results put forth in this study help to characterize and understand healthcare workers’ complex views towards the aging population they often encounter. Moreover, these results highlight the need and utility of leveraging practitioner education for combating ageism in the clinical setting.

Current research indicates that structural and functional social network attributes influence older adults’ well-being. However, these linkages may vary by sexual orientation. This study examines how social communication diversity and support diversity are related to loneliness and differ between lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) and heterosexual adults. Using data from the American Association of Retired Persons Foundation’s Loneliness and Social Connection Survey of adults 45+ (N = 3,009), including 10% who identified as LGB, we derive entropy scores, which capture the extent to which network size and quality of relationships are evenly distributed. A series of linear regressions were conducted to examine sexual orientation, social network indicators, and their interactions in predicting loneliness. We found a positive association between social communication diversity and loneliness. This finding was qualified by the interaction with sexual orientation. In addition, we found a negative association between support diversity and loneliness, an effect that was stronger for LGB participants than for heterosexual participants. The effect of support diversity on loneliness was much stronger for LGB adults than heterosexual adults. While LGB adults tend to score higher on the loneliness scale overall, the findings suggest that communication and support diversity have uniquely different patterns of associations for sexual minority groups. This study highlights the importance of considering multiple dimensions of social networks and has implications for addressing loneliness for heterosexual and LGB adults.

Objectives: While caregivers are typically enmeshed in broad networks of family and friends assisting with care, this network has been neglected in favor of examining a “primary” caregiver. This study examines types of family and unpaid friend networks for individuals with dementia and how one’s network type relates to the well-being of care recipients with dementia and their caregivers. Methods: Data are drawn from the nationally representative 2017 National Health and Aging Trends Study and associated National Study of Caregiving. The sample includes 336 dementia care networks (network size mean = 2.9). We first identified network types using latent class analysis and then examined the extent to which network type is associated with the well-being of care recipients with dementia (sleep, depressive symptoms) and their caregivers (emotional difficulty, overload, social support from family and friends) using ANOVA and linear regressions adjusting for demographics. Results: 3 network types were identified: “Siloed”—small networks, limited task sharing (29.8% of networks); “Small but Mighty”—small networks, high task sharing (23.0% of networks); and “Complex”—large networks, diverse membership, members who share and specialize in task assistance (47.2%). Individuals with dementia with a “Siloed” network had significantly poorer sleep quality and caregivers in “Siloed” networks reported receiving less social support from family and friends than those in “Small but Mighty” and “Complex” networks. Discussion: Caregiver networks that are less collaborative may need supports to reduce isolation among caregivers and improve health outcomes for individuals with dementia.

Objectives: This study seeks to assess whether and to what extent caregiver work strain is ameliorated by the presence of additional family caregivers and formal service use. Building on the stress process model and stress-appraisal moderation, we examine how formal and informal support varies in associations with caregiver distress for men and women. Methods: This study utilizes data provided by the National Study of Caregiving, which is linked with care-recipient information from the National Health and Aging Trends Study. Using panel methods for the pooled waves, we estimated caregiver outcomes of emotional well-being on the intersection of experiences of work strain and (a) the number of additional caregivers and (b) utilization of 6 different types of formal support. Results: Additional informal caregivers for each respective care recipient are associated with lower levels of distress, although utilization of formal services (paid help and Medicaid funding) is positively associated with caregiver distress. Informal support can offset the impact of work strain, but interactions are only evident for women caregivers. Discussion: The findings suggest that informal support, exemplified by the number of additional caregivers, corresponds with reduced emotional distress among employed caregivers and can mitigate the negative impacts of work strain. However, positive associations between formal support and male and female caregiver distress suggest that the context of formal services may offer limited or untimely support. This study is expected to broaden our understanding of informal caregiving in later life and provide practical implications on how to sustain informal care.

Background and Objectives: Many older adults with cognitive impairment receive care from multiple family caregivers, yet little is known about how caregiving network (CGN) characteristics differ by race and ethnicity. Guided by the social convoy and task-specific model, we investigate CGN characteristics and their associations with dementia status and care needs among Black, Latinx, and White older adults. Research Design and Methods: Using data from the 2015 National Health and Aging Trends Study, we analyzed a subsample of Black (N = 1,014), Latinx (N = 326), and White (N = 1,455) older adults with cognitive impairment. Latent profile analysis identified CGN profiles by racial and ethnic group, and multinomial logistic regression assessed the relationships between dementia status, care needs, and CGN profiles. Results: Across all groups, greater cognitive impairment is associated with larger CGNs, with a higher proportion of adult children and family members than those with less impairment. Among Black and Latinx older adults, those with multiple care needs tend to have larger CGNs with higher proportions of adult children, family members, and task-specific specialists than those with fewer needs within their respective groups. In contrast, White older adults with multiple care needs tend to rely on spouses and generalist caregivers providing assistances across various tasks, than their peers with fewer care needs. Discussion and Implications: By identifying the racial and ethnic differences in CGNs, our findings emphasize the need to incorporate multiple caregivers beyond the primary to existing culturally competent interventions or programs to improve the care and lessen caregiver burden.

Background and Objectives: When older adults face increasing care needs or limited support, remaining safely and comfortably at home becomes challenging. Extant research has primarily concentrated on characteristics of the older adult or their primary caregiver on nursing home admission. This study examines the risk of older adults transitioning to residential care (e.g., assisted living, nursing home), focusing on the influence of their care network or involvement of multiple helpers. Research Design and Methods: Using the National Health and Aging Trends Study, we conducted competing risk regression models that account for mortality, following 7,085 initially community-dwelling older adults across Rounds 1–9 (2011–2019). We assessed network composition, size, shared tasks, and the number of in-network specialists or generalists while controlling for individual sociodemographic and health factors. Results: Individuals with care networks that shared medical tasks had the highest risk of moving to a residential care setting, followed by those sharing household tasks. Conversely, shared mobility or self-care and transportation responsibilities were associated with lower risks. Having more generalists, but not specialists, increased the risk. Larger networks were associated with heightened risk, although having close family members like a spouse was protective. Discussion and Implications: The findings underscore that care network characteristics are critical to older adults’ ability to age in place. Specifically, older adults with larger networks, lacking a spouse or child, and providing complex care are at greater risk for relocating. Understanding care networks can guide interventions related to care network coordination and resource allocation to help avoid or postpone a residential care move.