Despite evidence of ethnic differences in family caregivers’ experiences, the extent to which caregiver interventions are culturally tailored to address these differences is unknown. A systematic review of literature published from 1980–2009 identified: differences in caregiving experiences of African American, Latino and Chinese American caregivers; psychosocial support interventions in these groups; and cultural tailoring of interventions. Ethnic differences in caregiving occurred at multiple levels (intrapersonal, interpersonal, environmental) and in multiple domains (psychosocial health, life satisfaction, caregiving appraisals, spirituality, coping, self-efficacy, physical functioning, social support, filial responsibility, familism, views toward elders, use of formal services and health care). Only 18 of 47 intervention articles reported outcomes by caregiver ethnicity. Only 11 reported cultural tailoring; 8 were from the REACH initiative. Cultural tailoring addressed: familism, language, literacy, protecting elders, and logistical barriers. Results suggest that more caregiver intervention studies evaluating systematically the benefits of cultural tailoring are needed.

Targeted outreach to underrepresented groups to build a registry of volunteers for health research may be a promising strategy for addressing recruitment disparities in African Americans' research participation.

This article describes three coding systems used to analyze systematically joint narratives told by 344 black and white newlywed couples about the `story of their relationship', as part of a program of study of the early years of marriage. The first coding system of these accounts captures the affects mentioned in the stories; the second assesses husband-wife interactions in telling the stories; and the third identifies styles and themes characterizing both the overall story and specific substories within the narratives. A summary of results based on these coding schemes is outlined. Several narrative measures were found to be related to marital quality over time. A number of these measures help clarify ways in which black couples ( n = 176) in comparison to white couples ( n = 167) are alike and ways in which they are different. We discuss the role of these coding schemes for capturing `meaning-making' in story construction. In addition, we illustrate the possibility for analyzing changes in narrative memory and its connection to affective development in people.

Through a synthesis of literature on caregiving, empowerment, social inequalities, and racial disparities in health and income, the authors built an argument for African American women caregivers' vulnerability to powerlessness and the applicability of an empowerment approach to social work practice with these caregivers. The article discusses two realities of African American women caregivers' experiences (strong coping and vulnerability) and two relevant theoretical frameworks (stress and coping and empowerment frameworks) for framing these experiences. Drawing on empowerment and other relevant literature, the authors recommend three practice strategies with these caregivers.

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We highlight several critical challenges that must be addressed to accelerate the advancement of the science on recruitment and retention of ethnically diverse older adults into health research. These include the relative lack of attention by researchers to methodological issues related to recruitment and retention of ethnically diverse populations and the inadequacy of funding to advance systematically this field. We describe strategies used by the Resource Centers on Minority Aging Research and other National Institute of Aging-funded programs to advance the science of recruitment of ethnically diverse older adults. Finally, we propose a set of broad recommendations designed to generate a body of evidence on successful methods of recruitment and retention of ethnically diverse populations in health research. To eliminate health disparities and better understand aging processes in ethnically diverse populations, much more research is needed on effective strategies for increasing minority enrollment in health research. Comparative effectiveness research on more intensive recruitment and retention methods, which are often needed for including diverse populations, will require dedicated funding and concerted efforts by investigators.

This study addresses the meaning of marriage in the first year through themes in joint narratives told by 343 African American and White urban newlyweds in first marriages. Controlling for spouses’ education, household income, years lived together prior to marriage, premarital parental status, and length of narrative in logistic regression analysis, the authors found no significant differences between African American and White newlyweds on children, education, family, finances and time themes. They found significant differences between the couples on achievement, couple relations, religion, and work themes. White newlyweds were more likely to report achievement and work themes; African-American newlyweds were more likely to report themes of couple relations and religion. The authors discuss these results in terms of the different and similar meanings of African American and White marriages as well as implications for family practice.

Knowledge about the involvement of rural, older African Americans and recruitment of their female informal caregivers in research is essential to understanding recruitment successes and pitfalls in ethnic minority research.