Hispanic Geriatric Residents in a Long-Term Care Setting

While admission to long-term care facilities is often a stressful and disruptive experience for elders and their families, it can be particularly traumatic for Hispanics. In addition to common losses experienced in the process of institutionalization (e.g., loss of home, social network, and autonomy). Hispanic older adults lose the social context for the expression and reinforcement of cultural values such as “ respeto,” “ personalismo,” and “ confianza.” Because of cultural and language differences, some Hispanics face unique obstacles in adjusting to institutional living. We propose that the special circumstances aged Hispanics face in long-term care adversely affect quality of life and place them at risk for psychological disturbances (e.g., anxiety, depression, acting-out behaviors). After a discussion of issues in the context of the relevant literature, we propose some preventive and interventive strategies, discuss case studies that illustrate salient issues to adjustment, and generate a series of testable hypotheses.