Addressing the needs of Nicaraguan older adults living on the edge: A university-community partnership in international service-learning.

Nicaragua is a very low-income country entering a period of rapid aging with limited geriatric training for health care professionals. To help build capacity and to enhance student learning, a short-term international service-learning program was implemented in 2004 in partnership with the Jessie F. Richardson Foundation and Nicaraguan community stakeholders. Graduate and undergraduate students at Portland State University complete coursework for one term in the United States then travel to Nicaragua for about two weeks to participate in educational, research, and service activities, primarily in group homes for older Nicaraguans. Students learn about global aging, gerontology, community development, service learning, and Nicaraguan history and culture, then apply their gerontology-related knowledge by training direct care staff, older adults and their family members, and students. The authors describe the impetus for and evolution of the program, students' evaluation of the program, faculty observations on program benefits and challenges, lessons learned, and future plans.

Beliefs and expectations of family and nursing home care among Mexican-origin caregivers.

This study examined perceptions of family care, nursing homes, and expectations of future care among 85 Mexican-origin women caregivers, some who lived in Mexico City and some who lived in East Los Angeles, California (East LA). Attitudes of Mexican-born women-living in Mexico City and in East LA-were more similar to each other than those of U.S.-born women. Most caregivers reported a preference for family care and had negative views of institutional care. In addition, despite the negative views about nursing homes, some caregivers expressed a willingness to seek nursing-home care for themselves so as to avoid burdening their children in the future. Findings lend support to the persistence of Mexican cultural values in this sample of Mexican-origin caregiving women, regardless of where they were born.