Predictors of use of senior centers by elderly Chinese immigrants in Canada

This study examined the prevalence and predictors of use of senior centers by a random sample of 1,537 elderly Chinese immigrants in Canada. A service utilization model of Andersen and Newman (1973) was adopted as the theoretical framework to examine the predicting effects of predisposing, enabling, and need factors. The findings showed that 28.8% of the elderly Chinese immigrants reported using a senior center within the past year. Having a religion, living alone, having stronger Chinese ethnic identity and stronger social support were the significant predictors identified, as shown in the hierarchical logistic regression findings.