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How does need for assistance differ by race or ethnicity?
Native Americans report the highest proportion of their population age 5 and over needing assistance in activities of daily living (ADL), 2.6%. Native Americans and black non-Hispanics report 3.0% of their population needing assistance in instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), the highest of all races/ethnicities.
Over 4.5 million white non-Hispanic people are estimated to need assistance in IADL only and another 2.5 million in ADL. Of black non-Hispanics, 819,000 need assistance in IADL only and another 553,000 in ADL.
Technical Note: Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.
Native Americans and Blcak non-Hispanics have the highest rates of need for assistance.
Graphic: Stacked bar chart.
Technical Note: The standard error for the values listed for Black Hispanics is too great to be a statistically reliable estimate.
Source: LaPlante, 1992
Survey: SIPP, 1992