scholarly journals Local Area Variation in Morbidity Among Low-Income, Older Adults in the United States

2019 ◽  
Vol 171 (7) ◽  
pp. 464 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Polyakova ◽  
Lynn M. Hua
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Local Area ◽  
The United States ◽  
Area Variation

scholarly journals Sensor-Based Passive Remote Monitoring and Discordant Values: Qualitative Study of the Experiences of Low-Income Immigrant Elders in the United States (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clara Berridge ◽  
Keith T Chan ◽  
Youngjun Choi
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Remote Monitoring ◽  
Elder Care ◽  
The United States ◽  
Passive Monitoring ◽  
Senior Housing ◽  
Monitoring Technologies

BACKGROUND Remote monitoring technologies are positioned to mitigate the problem of a dwindling care workforce and disparities in access to care for the growing older immigrant population in the United States. To achieve these ends, designers and providers need to understand how these supports can be best provided in the context of various sociocultural environments that shape older adults’ expectations and care relationships, yet few studies have examined how the same remote monitoring technologies may produce different effects and uses depending on what population is using them in a particular context. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to examine the experiences and insights of low-income, immigrant senior residents, family contacts, and staff of housing that offered a sensor-based passive monitoring system designed to track changes in movement around the home and trigger alerts for caregivers. The senior housing organization had been offering the QuietCare sensor system to its residents for 6 years at the time of the study. We are interested in adoption and discontinuation decisions and use over time, rather than projected acceptance. Our research question is how do cultural differences influence use and experiences with this remote monitoring technology? The study does not draw generalizable conclusions about how cultural groups interact with a given technology, but rather, it examines how values are made visible in elder care technology interactions. METHODS A total of 41 participants (residents, family, and staff) from 6 large senior housing independent living apartment buildings were interviewed. Interviews were conducted in English and Korean with these participants who collectively had immigrated to the United States from 10 countries. RESULTS The reactions of immigrant older adults to the passive monitoring system reveal that this tool offered to them was often mismatched with their values, needs, and expectations. Asian elders accepted the intervention social workers offered largely to appease them, but unlike their US-born counterparts, they adopted reluctantly without hope that it would ameliorate their situation. Asian immigrants discontinued use at the highest rate of all residents, and intergenerational family cultural conflict contributed to this termination. Social workers reported that none of the large population of Russian-speaking residents agreed to use QuietCare. Bilingual and bicultural social workers played significant roles as cultural navigators in the promotion of QuietCare to residents. CONCLUSIONS This research into the interactions of culturally diverse people with the same monitoring technology reveals the significant role that social values and context play in shaping how people and families interact with and experience elder care interventions. If technology-based care services are to reach their full potential, it will be important to identify the ways in which cultural values produce different uses and responses to technologies intended to help older adults live independently.

scholarly journals LONG-TERM COSTS OF GRANDPARENT CAREGIVING: RESULTS FROM THREE WAVES OF THE MIDLIFE IN THE UNITED STATES STUDY (MIDUS)

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S797-S798
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Rickenbach ◽  
Elizabeth H Rickenbach ◽  
Chih-Chien Huang ◽  
Jessica Y Allen ◽  
Kelly E Cichy
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Longitudinal Research ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Lower Income ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Grandparent Caregiving

Abstract Cross-sectional studies reveal the health burden of grandparent caregiving. Still, longitudinal, research is needed to understand how grandparent caregiving compromises grandparents’ long-term health. Using three waves of data from the Midlife in the United States Study (MIDUS), we examined sociodemographic factors, health and well-being outcomes between caregiving (CG) and non-caregiving (NCG) grandparents. By wave 3, 12.8% (n = 234) were CG. CG were younger, more likely female, and had lower income and education. MANCOVA adjusted for age, gender, education, and number of children revealed CG reported poorer physical and emotional well-being (e.g. higher depression, anxiety, lower life satisfaction, greater morbidity); CG were consistently less healthy than NCG across all three waves. Lower income and less healthy older adults are more likely to become grandparents, and they remain less healthy over time. Policies and resources to assist grandparents, particularly low-income and vulnerable older adults who are caring for grandchildren, are needed.

scholarly journals Active subjects of passive monitoring: responses to a passive monitoring system in low-income independent living

2015 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 537-560 ◽  
Author(s):  
CLARA BERRIDGE
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Monitoring System ◽  
Low Income ◽  
United States Of America ◽  
Independent Living ◽  
The United States ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Passive Monitoring ◽  
Daily Lives

ABSTRACTPassive monitoring technology is beginning to be reimbursed by third-party payers in the United States of America. Given the low voluntary uptake of these technologies on the market, it is important to understand the concerns and perspectives of users, former users and non-users. In this paper, the range of ways older adults relate to passive monitoring in low-income independent-living residences is presented. This includes experiences of adoption, non-adoption, discontinuation and creative ‘misuse’. The analysis of interviews reveals three key insights. First, assumptions built into the technology about how older adults live present a problem for many users who experience unwanted disruptions and threats to their behavioural autonomy. Second, resident response is varied and challenges the dominant image of residents as passive subjects of a passive monitoring system. Third, the priorities of older adults (e.g. safety, autonomy, privacy, control, contact) are more diverse and multi-faceted than those of the housing organisation staff and family members (e.g. safety, efficiency) who drive the passive monitoring intervention. The tension between needs, desires and the daily lives of older adults and the technological solutions offered to them is made visible by their active responses, including resistance to them. This exposes the active and meaningful qualities of older adults’ decisions and practices.

scholarly journals Living Alone in the United States and Europe: The Impact of Public Support on the Independence of Older Adults

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 150-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stipica Mudrazija ◽  
Jacqueline L. Angel ◽  
Ivan Cipin ◽  
Sime Smolic
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Independent Living ◽  
Public Support ◽  
The United States ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Living Alone ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Generous Welfare

While we know that living alone is often associated with greater risk of financial hardship, we have limited knowledge on the possible link between the availability of public support and independent living. We use data from the 2014 Health and Retirement Study and the 2011–2015 Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe to compare income and wealth profiles of the population aged 60 and above who are living alone in the United States and 19 European countries. We find that the likelihood of living alone is higher in generous welfare states, with social support and spending both positively associated with living alone. The relationship between personal resources and living alone has a smaller positive gradient in countries with robust welfare systems. The lack of adequate public support in less generous welfare states may constrain the ability of many low-income older adults without a partner to continue living independently.

Weight Identity Among Older Adults in the United States: Genetic and Environmental Influences

2018 ◽  
pp. 262-274
Author(s):  
Robbee Wedow ◽  
Daniel A. Briley ◽  
Susan E. Short ◽  
Jason Boardman
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Identity ◽  
Weight Status ◽  
Environmental Influences ◽  
Subjective Assessment ◽  
The United States ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Perceived Weight ◽  
Midlife Adults

This chapter uses twin pairs from the Midlife in the United States study to investigate the genetic and environmental influences on perceived weight status for midlife adults. The inquiry builds on previous work investigating the same phenomenon in adolescents, and it shows that perceived weight status is not only heritable, but also heritable beyond objective weight. Subjective assessment of physical weight is independent of one’s physical weight and described as “weight identity.” Importantly, significant differences are shown in the heritability of weight identity among men and women. The chapter ends by discussing the potential relevance of these findings for broader social identity research.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document