Social care of the elderly: the effects of ethnicity, class, and culture

""A welcome addition to the literature in this important area of work, that builds on...the empirical studies which have illuminated our understanding of the requirements of effective service provision. The final section...is, in a real sense, a call for action, for all of us in the field and for public officials and 'opinion makers' to respond to the need for 'Social Care' now and in the new millenium.""--from the foreword by Rose Dobrof , DSW, Brookdale Professor of Gerontology, Hunter College, and James R. Dumpson, PhD, Chairman of Policy Center for Aging, New York Community Trust

Based on two groundbreaking studies of older people in an urban setting, this important book focuses on access to social services for different ethnicities. Cantor and Brennan review different models and provide the theoretical base for the book in Part I. They describe ways in which the complementary roles of informal and formal systems change as a function of the health status of older people. In Part II, they illustrate the ways in which ethnicity, class, and culture affect the roles of the formal and informal systems by focusing on specific case studies of African American, Latino, and Jewish elderly.