HOW ELDER-CENTERED CAREGIVING MODELS IN RURAL ALASKA INFLUENCE POLICY TO IMPROVE CAREGIVING

摘要

With the growing diversity of the US population in both rural and urban settings, the need for more culturally sensitive and meaningful frameworks and models of caregiving is growing. Based on the experiences of Alaska Natives, this presentation will discuss the need for cultural approaches to policies and programs targeting urban and rural caregivers. We will discuss recommendations for organizations and communities to modify policy and programs to effectively meet the unique family and community approaches to caregiving. The findings of this presentation have relevance for other racial and ethnic minority communities who provide caregiving from a community-based, elder-centered approach. These findings can influence policy change to encourage rural and urban agencies and service providers to provide more culturally sensitive and meaningful caregiving services.