Showing papers in "Research on Aging in 1996"
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored the impact of couples' employment/retirement patterns on indicators of marital quality (conflicts, heated arguments, marital happiness) using logistic regressions.
Abstract: This study explores the impact of couples' employment/retirement patterns on indicators of marital quality (conflicts, heated arguments, marital happiness). Logistic regressions based on data from ...
66Â citations
TL;DR: The presence of the third person in the doctor-older patient-companion triad should be viewed as an opportunity for patient education and support for the companion who provides an ongoing role in care of the older patient.
Abstract: This study was designed to examine the role of the third person in the doctor-older patient-companion triad at three points in the medical care decision process of older patients: before the medical encounter, during the medical visit, and subsequent to the medical encounter. Older patients accompanied on the medical visit were compared with older patients who came alone regarding the roles and activities of family and others leading to the older patients' medical visit as well as immediate outcomes upon completion of the medical visit and short-term outcomes 2 months after the initial medical visit. Older patients accompanied to the medical visit also assessed roles and assistance provided by the third-person companion during the medical encounter. Older patients accompanied on the medical visit were usually accompanied by the same person across medical visits. The third person was likely to be a spouse and was viewed as an asset during and after the medical encounter. Older accompanied persons were more...
65Â citations
TL;DR: Methodological issues are discussed, including problems with theory generation, lack of standardized methodology, gaps in research knowledge, and prior emphasis on descriptive studies as opposed to testing of interventions to improve elderly patient-physician communication.
Abstract: This article reviews research on older patients and their doctors, with particular attention to the medical encounter between an elderly patient and his or her physician. Major categories of variables affecting the medical encounter include provider and patient characteristics (age, gender, ethnicity, education, values) and the context or setting of the encounter (site, presence of a patient's companion, and whether the visit is an initial one for the physician-patient pair). The process and content of medical encounters are affected by participant characteristics and context variables, and these in turn affect outcome variables such as participant satisfaction, adherence to treatment regimens, and medical outcome. Process issues include transfer of information, medical decision making, and interpersonal relations. Methodological issues are discussed, including problems with theory generation, lack of standardized methodology, gaps in research knowledge, and prior emphasis on descriptive studies as oppose...
64Â citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the poor psychological health of caregivers of the frail aged is examined using the stress paradigm and the crises of decline model of caregiving burden, where stress paradigms generally focus on...
Abstract: The poor psychological health of caregivers of the frail aged is examined using the stress paradigm and the crises of decline model of caregiving burden. Whereas stress paradigms generally focus on...
62Â citations
TL;DR: This paper applied a three-level nested logit model to the 1990 U.S. census to explain the 1985 to 1990 return and onward interstate migration patterns of the elderly aged 65+ by personal factors and state attributes.
Abstract: This article applies a three-level nested logit model to the microdata of the 1990 U.S. census to explain the 1985 to 1990 return and onward interstate migration patterns of the elderly aged 65+ by personal factors and state attributes. The elderly were split into three groups defined by age: 65 to 69 70 to 74 and 75+. Analysis reveals that both return and onward migrants were sensitive to amenity factors racial similarity and the distance decay effect although return migrants were less affected by the distance decay effect than onward migrants. The motivations for a return or onward migration were also observed to vary with respect to age groups with amenity effects more important for the young elderly. Several personal characteristics also were found to systematically influence the migration choice process including level of education and marital status. (EXCERPT)
58Â citations
TL;DR: Age, education, and marital status are found to be the most important individual characteristics influencing the provision of care to elderly parents by adult daughters, and only parental age is consistently related to care.
Abstract: This article examines a variety of demographic and structural characteristics that influence die provision of care to elderly parents by adult daughters. In particular, variations in these characteristics by the duration and intensity of care provision are examined. Age, education, and marital slams are found to be the most important individual characteristics influencing the provision of care. Parental age, the number of living parents, and the proximity of parents and daughters are also important. However, when caregivers are examined by the duration and intensity of their care, only parental age is consistently related to care. Geographic proximity does not appear significant for women who are providing short, intense periods of care, implying that "crisis" care is undertaken by women despite their distance from parents. This research highlights the importance of distinguishing among different types of caregiving.
37Â citations
TL;DR: The authors contend that the formation of strong, meaningful relationships between elderly patients and their physicians is best achieved through effective medical communication and care, and thus should be the function of appropriate interventions.
Abstract: Currently, most research in the area of physician-elderly patient interactions relates to either outcome, context, or interaction styles. There are limited data in the area of intervention studies. The authors recognize five specific areas of interventional research to consider: communication during encounters, characteristics of older patients, physical impairments, physician attributes, and the team approach to health care. Also highlighted are recognition and evaluation of the special needs of elderly patients through geriatric assessment. The authors recognize the need for more intervention studies that attempt to change patient or physician behaviors and the applicability of the classic randomized controlled model of research. Overall, the authors contend that the formation of strong, meaningful relationships between elderly patients and their physicians is best achieved through effective medical communication and care, and thus should be the function of appropriate interventions.
37Â citations
TL;DR: The research suggests that the preponderance of talk in the medical encounter is biomedical, with little attention to psychosocial topics, and the differential attention to the biomedical sphere may be more common and more problematic with the elderly.
Abstract: This article reviews the literature and presents some new preliminary findings on physician-older patient communication about psychosocial issues in primary care medical visits. The authors examine...
34Â citations
TL;DR: The impact of family composition on providing help to older parents is examined and several family composition variables are significant predictors, including number of sisters, number of brothers, and gender in interaction with marital status and number of siblings.
Abstract: Using a subsample from the Canadian Aging and Research Network (CARNET) Work and Family Survey of 1,015 persons who provide at least 1 hour of help weekly to one or both parents, the impact of family composition on providing help to older parents is examined. Specifically, three research questions are addressed: (1) Do family composition characteristics affect the number of hours of help provided to a parent or parents? (2) does the likelihood of being the sole provider of help differ according to these characteristics? and (3) does the likelihood of being the primary helper vary based on family composition? Family composition variables include gender and marital status of the respondent, number of brothers and sisters, the number of children age 20 and older and age 12 and under, and the gender of the parent. Several family composition variables are significant predictors, including number of sisters, number of brothers, and gender in interaction with marital status and number of siblings.
34Â citations
TL;DR: How physicians' and elderly patients' social and cultural backgrounds affect their interactions and how their power relationships can change the interactions is considered.
Abstract: This article considers how physicians' and elderly patients' social and cultural backgrounds affect their interactions and how their power relationships can change the interactions. The author first examines how doctors establish power over elderly patients by using the patient's first name. Next, she identifies six elements to be used when assessing the physician-elderly patient relationship. She considers how the demographic backgrounds of both doctors and elderly patients can influence their understanding and expectations of each other and then explores the impact of the interaction location and the effects of the health of both participants. She discusses how patient caregivers can affect the physician-elderly patient relationship and how uncertainty about information exchanged can damage the relationship. Finally, the author projects how new technologies will be used to modify physician-elderly patient interactions in the future.
31Â citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors identify characteristics of caregivers that contribute to differences in psychological distress and physical health in family caregivers to elderly relatives, and the goal of their study was to identify characteristics that contribute significantly to the differences in emotional wellbeing.
Abstract: The goal of this study was to identify characteristics of caregivers that contribute to differences in psychological distress and physical health in family caregivers to elderly relatives. It was h...
TL;DR: Both quantitative and qualitative analyses revealed no significant differences in reported barriers to ADC use by users and nonusers.
Abstract: To determine the perceived benefits and barriers to the use of adult day care (ADC) by family caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD), 104 family caregivers (52 users of ADC and 52 nonusers) were interviewed by telephone using a semistructured interview protocol. Comparisons were made between users and nonusers of ADC. Analysis of the qualitative data identified seven categories of barriers to ADC and seven categories of benefits to ADC. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses revealed no significant differences in reported barriers to ADC use by users and nonusers. Both users and nonusers reported barriers; more users overcame the barriers to use the service. Both users and nonusers saw benefits to the caregiver from using ADC; only users saw ADC as primarily benefiting the patient. ADC users also used other respite services more than nonusers.
TL;DR: The Nursing Unit Rating Scale (NURS) was developed to compare dementia special care units (SCUs) in nursing facilities to their non-SCU counterparts across six environmental dimensions and is a potentially useful tool for assessing policy and program features of SCUs.
Abstract: The Nursing Unit Rating Scale (NURS) was developed to compare dementia special care units (SCUs) in nursing facilities to their non-SCU counterparts across six environmental dimensions: (1) separat...
TL;DR: This paper found that ethnic differences in late-life disability would be observed and that ethnic differentials would be attributed to differences in physical capacity versus measurement error or cultural response to disabling disease.
Abstract: The authors hypothesized that ethnic differences in late-life disability would be observed and that ethnic differentials would be attributed to differences in physical capacity versus measurement error or cultural response to disabling disease. This study employed performance-based and self-report disability measures in a probability sample of 156 older African American, White, and Puerto Rican adults living in Springfield, Massachusetts. Analyses revealed that Puerto Rican and African American older adults reported significantly more disability than did Whites and that observed ethnic differences in disability were attributed to functional limitations. The current cohort of Puerto Rican and African American older adults clearly is at higher risk of needing long-term health and social services related to their increased levels of disability.
TL;DR: A reanalysis of the Sample 2 data from Hubley and Hultsch (1994) is presented following the discovery of an error in the scoring of Costa and McCrae's (1985) NEO-PI.
Abstract: A reanalysis of the Sample 2 data from Hubley and Hultsch (1994) is presented following the discovery of an error in the scoring of Costa and McCrae's (1985) NEO-PI. The reanalysis showed that both extraversion and openness to experience were related to the feel age measure (SAP), whereas only neuroticism was related to the ideal age measure (CAS). Trait variables did not substantially moderate the relationships between SAP and either self-reported health or affective state variables. However, neuroticism did render the relationship between CAS and affective state variables nonsignificant.
TL;DR: Logistic regression analysis support the hypothesized birth registration effect: Controlling for demographic characteristics, persons known to have birth certificates exhibited significantly greater age agreement on linked death certificates and social security records (odds ratio = 2.3).
Abstract: This article expands on previous research that has documented disparities in age information for elderly African Americans. Drawing on a sample of death certificates for Maryland-born African Americans purportedly aged 65-79 years, the validity of age data on both death certificates and social security records is examined through comparison with birth dates provided on linked birth records. The commonly assumed relationship between birth registration and quality of age reporting also is investigated. When compared to birth records, age reporting on social security records is significantly more accurate than that on death records. Age agreement between matched death and social security records closely reflects age validity as determined from birth records. Findings based on logistic regression analysis support the hypothesized birth registration effect: Controlling for demographic characteristics, persons known to have birth certificates exhibited significantly greater age agreement on linked death certifi...
TL;DR: The STAYWELL Program, an 8-session health promotion/disease prevention pro-gram for older adults, was found to have a significant impact on elder participants' health-related beliefs and behaviors as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The STAYWELL Program, an 8-session health promotion/disease prevention pro-gram for older adults, was found to have a significant impact on elder participants' health-related beliefs and behaviors. This quasi-experimental study's 146 participants were recruited from 8 western New York senior citizen centers, and 70% (n = 102) were available for a 9-month follow-up assessment. As compared with elders on a waiting list, study participants who experienced the STAYWELL intervention ex-pressed significantly healthier beliefs and reported behavioral changes indicative of a healthier lifestyle at follow-up. All of the intervention effect sizes observed may be characterized as large to very large: (1) The intervention group expressed healthier beliefs as assessed using the healthy belief index-at follow-up, three quarters of them scored higher on this measure than the average person in the waiting list comparison group (U3 = 77.3%); (2) the intervention group engaged in healthier behaviors as assessed by using th...
TL;DR: The findings confirm the overall utility of the self-assessed health as a reliable estimate of current health status and suggest that spontaneously mentioning health problems reflects current as well as future health concerns.
Abstract: The purpose of this research is to examine how individuals evaluate bodily and medical concerns and define health situations Responses to a fixed-response health-rating question and an open-ended question probing personal problems are compared and predicted with a set of health status indicators including measures of functional limitations and morbidity Activity limitation is the strongest predictor of each measure among this national sample of adults (N = 3,497) Age is associated with poorer rated health and more defined health problems in most of the adult years, but this trend is reversed in older ages Despite higher morbidity and functional limitations among African American women, they were less likely than other respondents to define their health as problematic In addition, evaluative components of the self such as self-esteem influence ratings of health but not health problem definitions The findings confirm the overall utility of the self-assessed health as a reliable estimate of current hea
TL;DR: Small, statistically significant differences in deceased husband's age, race, education, place and cause of death were revealed, and recent widows were more likely to participate.
Abstract: Little is known about bereaved persons who refuse to participate in bereavement research, although participants have been assumed to be representative of the bereaved. This assumption is examined in a study of older women in their first, second, or third year of widowhood. To identify sources of sample bias, data from deceased husbands' death certificates (N = 2,331) were used to compare respondents and nonrespondents at stages in the recruitment process: assumed located, returned reply card, agreed to hear more, wished to participate, eligible, and interviewed. The low participation rate (N= 376) did not produce a major bias, although small, statistically significant differences in deceased husband's age, race, education, place and cause of death were revealed. Differences by recruitment stage were observed, as were differences by cohort. Recent widows were more likely to participate. Implications for achieving representative samples are discussed.
TL;DR: This article reviews the current literature on the relationship between specific interviewing skills and outcomes of care and in the context of three clinical vignettes, these results are discussed in relationship to interviewing geriatric patients.
Abstract: The medical interview has become an increasingly important diagnostic and therapeutic tool in the era of managed care. This article reviews the current literature on the relationship between specific interviewing skills and outcomes of care. In the context of three clinical vignettes, these results are discussed in relationship to interviewing geriatric patients.
TL;DR: In this paper, a series of hypothetical questions about how their lives might change if they no longer lived with those children were asked, and the results indicated that the majority of parents anticipate no change in most aspects of their lives.
Abstract: In the United States, it is not uncommon for older adults (age 65 years or over) to live in the same households with adult children. Yet we know very little about the quality and dynamics of the interpersonal relationships within such households. In this investigation, older adults (N= 192) coresiding with adult children respond to a series of hypothetical questions about how their lives might change if they no longer lived with those children. Results indicate that the majority of parents anticipate no change in most aspects of their lives. Among those who anticipate a change, most indicate that their lives would be worse. Bivariate comparisons identify parent, child, and household characteristics that are associated with more negative expectations; however, in multivariate analyses, the marital status of the parents had the most significant and pervasive influence on the attitudes that were expressed, with unmarried elders more likely to anticipate a negative impact.
TL;DR: It is suggested that for active women, level of physical activity does modestly influence HDL levels, and for active men, the model's predictive ability was not significant.
Abstract: There have been few studies concerning the relationship between exercise habits and lipid levels of older adults. This study examines this relationship using data from 117 healthy older adults who volunteered to participate in a health promotion project. Responses to a seven-day activity recall questionnaire, percentage of body fat as measured by bioelectric impedance, age, and gender were used to predict total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, and triglyceride levels. Only the model predicting HDL was significant (R2=. 15, p = .002). Subsequent regression analyses predicting HDL levels were limited to persons who participated in one or more exercise sessions in the previous week. For these active women, the model's ability to predict HDL improved (R2 = .37,p = .005), with exercise level having the greatest effect. For the active men, the model's predictive ability was not significant. The findings suggest that for active women, level of physical activity does modestly influence HDL levels.