Awareness and use of home- and community-based long-term care by rural American Indian and white elderly with co-morbid diabetes.

The purposes of this study were to determine if there are any differences in awareness and utilization of available home- and community-based long-term care (HCBLTC) between rural American Indian and white elderly with co-morbid diabetes, and to examine how they learned about HCBLTC programs. Survey data were analyzed from 62 American Indians and 64 whites aged 65 years or older living in the community. The American Indian respondents were more likely to be aware of and to have used HCBLTC programs compared to their white counterparts. The most common way that the American Indian participants learned about HCBLTC programs was through health care referrals, while the most common way for whites was through friends.