부산대학교 도서관

Purpose: Older Amish adults represent a growing population in the U.S., who have unique risks for healthcare disparities. While interactions between the Amish and mainstream society are increasing, there is still limited information about the caregiving needs of Amish older adults or their interactions with Western healthcare systems (WHC). This information is essential to inform interventions to reduce health disparity risks and promote culturally congruent care. Methods: An integrative review summarizes current information about Amish older adult caregivers and their experiences with WHC. Using a purposive computerized database search of key terms, Amish, older adult, experiences, health, healthcare, and caregiving in addition to citation mapping, literature published between 1985 and 2016 was reviewed. Results: A database search identified four articles and two dissertations with material specific to Amish older adult caregiving and interactions with WHC. Citation mapping and hand searching publications resulted in an additional 41 publications for review. Twenty-seven publications were included in final analysis. These materials addressed the characteristics of Amish caregivers of older adults, locations of caregiving, descriptive information about Amish older adult health and illness and how decisions are made in Amish communities to access WHC. Conclusions: Findings suggest that the research about Amish older adults and their experiences with WHC is lacking but is needed to inform culturally congruent care interventions to prevent health disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]