scholarly journals The Health and Well-Being of African-American Older Adults With a History of Incarceration

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 506-506
Author(s):  
Rodlescia Sneed
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
African American ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Formerly Incarcerated ◽  
Older Prisoners ◽  
Health Related ◽  
History Of ◽  
Health And Well Being ◽  
African American Older Adults

Abstract African-Americans are overrepresented in the criminal justice system. Longer prison stays and release programs for older prisoners may result in an increased number of community-dwelling older adults with a history of incarceration. In recent years, there has been a substantial increase in research on health-related outcomes for currently incarcerated older adults; however, there has been little inquiry into outcomes for formerly incarcerated African-American older adults following community re-entry. In this study, we used secondary data from the Health and Retirement Study to describe employment, economic, and health-related outcomes in this population. Twelve percent of the 2238 African-Americans in our sample had been previously incarcerated. Those who had been previously incarcerated had higher rates of lung disease, arthritis, back problems, mobility problems, and mental health issues than their counterparts. They also had higher rates of hospitalization and lower use of dental health services. Further, while they did not experience lower employment rates than those with no criminal history, those who had been incarcerated had more physically demanding jobs and reported greater economic strain. Given the disproportionate incarceration rates among African-Americans, the aging of the prison population, and the increase in community re-entry for older prisoners, research that explores factors that impact the health and well-being of formerly incarcerated individuals has broad impact. Future work should focus on addressing the needs of this vulnerable population of African-American older adults.

scholarly journals The Impact of Distal Influences and Proximal Resources on the Mental Health of African American Older Adults: Findings From the Georgia Centenarian Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Meneka C Johnson Nicholson ◽  
Peter Martin ◽  
Megan Gilligan ◽  
Carolyn E Cutrona ◽  
Daniel W Russell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
African American ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Mental Health Outcomes ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
The Impact ◽  
African American Older Adults

Abstract Background and Objectives Over the years, a large amount of research has been devoted to the investigation of factors that led to mental health outcomes in older adults. For African American older adults, their lived experiences place them at high risk for mental health problems. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of early life influences (i.e., education, childhood life events, and childhood financial well-being) and present psychosocial resources (i.e., individual, financial, and social) on current mental health outcomes in a sample of African American older adults in their 60s, 80s, and 100s. Research Design and Methods Using data from the Georgia Centenarian Study, 125 participants were interviewed about their mental health, resources, and early life influences. Results A structural equation model was tested and resulted in a good fit. Results indicated that the more social resources African American older adults had available, the lower the number of depressive symptoms they reported. African Americans with higher levels of financial well-being during childhood reported higher self-rated mental health. Older adults had higher levels of financial resources. Level of education showed a positive relationship with financial resources. Indirect effects of distal influences on health outcomes via current resources were not found. Discussion and Implications The findings are of direct practical relevance and can be used to more readily identify older African Americans who may be susceptible to poorer mental health outcomes based upon the impact of their unique distal and proximal psychosocial resources.

scholarly journals Binge Drinking among Economically Disadvantaged African American Older Adults with Diabetes

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shervin Assari ◽  
James L. Smith ◽  
Mohammed Saqib ◽  
Mohsen Bazargan
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
African American ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
Binge Drinking ◽  
Economically Disadvantaged ◽  
Living Arrangement ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Health Determinants ◽  
African American Older Adults

Purpose. This study investigated the effect of demographic, socioeconomic, and psychological factors as well as the role of health determinants on alcohol consumption and binge drinking among economically disadvantaged African American older adults with type 2 diabetes mellites (T2DM). Methods. This survey recruited 231 African Americans who were older adults (age 65+ years) and had T2DM. Participants were selected from economically disadvantaged areas of South Los Angeles. A structured face-to-face interview was conducted to collect data on demographic factors, objective and subjective socioeconomic status (SES) including education and financial difficulty, living arrangement, marital status, health, and drinking behaviors (drinking and binge drinking). Results. Age, gender, living alone, pain, comorbid conditions, and smoking were associated with drinking/binge drinking. Male gender, pain, and being a smoker were associated with higher odds of drinking/binge drinking, while individuals with more comorbid medical conditions had lower odds of binge drinking. Conclusion. In economically constrained urban environments, gender, pain, and smoking but not age, SES, depression, and health may predict binge drinking for African American older adults with T2DM. African Americans older adult men with T2DM with comorbid pain should be screened for binge drinking.

Speaker, tell me a joke: The feasibility of using smart speaker technology for health and well-being in an older adult population (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Faulkenberry McCloud ◽  
Carly Perez ◽  
Mesfin Awoke Bekalu ◽  
Kasisomayajula Viswanath
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Adult Population ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Lower Socioeconomic ◽  
Study Staff ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Study Participants ◽  
Older Adult Population ◽  
Additional Explanation ◽  
Health And Well Being

BACKGROUND Although smart speaker technology is poised to help improve the health and well-being of older adults through offering services such as music, medication reminders, and connection to others, more research is needed to determine how older adults from lower socioeconomic position (SEP) accept and use this technology. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study is to serve as a feasibility study for using smart speakers for improving the health and well-being of older low SEP adults. METHODS Forty nine adults between the age of 65 to 85 who lived in a subsidized housing community were recruited to take part in a three-month study. Participants had a smart speaker into their home and were given a brief orientation to its use. Over the course of the study, participants were given weekly check-in calls to help assist with any problems and newsletters with tips on how to use the speaker. Participants received a pretest and posttest to gauge comfort with technology, well-being, and perceptions of and use of the speaker. Study staff also maintained detailed process notes of interactions with participants over the course of the study, including a log of all issues reported. RESULTS At the end of the study period, 38% of the participants indicated using the speaker daily, and 38% reported using it several times per week. Seventy-two percent of the participants indicated that they wanted to continue using the speaker after the end of the study. The majority (63%) indicated that the speaker was useful, and approximately half of participants felt that the speaker gave them another voice to talk to (51%) and connected them with the outside world (47%). Although common uses were using the speaker for weather, music, and news, fewer reported using it for health-related questions. Despite initial challenges participants experienced with framing questions to the speaker, additional explanation by study staff addressed these issues in the first weeks of the study. CONCLUSIONS Results from this study indicate that there is promise for smart speaker technology with older low SEP adults, particularly to connect them to music, news, and reminders. Future studies will need to provide more up-front training on query formation, as well as develop and promote more specific options for older adults, particularly in the area of health and well-being. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT RR2-10.2196/jmir.4375

scholarly journals Spirituality and the Illness Experience: Perspectives of African American Older Adults

2021 ◽  
pp. 104990912098828
Author(s):  
Shaunna Siler ◽  
Kelly Arora ◽  
Katherine Doyon ◽  
Stacy M. Fischer
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
African American ◽  
Chronic Illness ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Healthcare System ◽  
Illness Experience ◽  
Spiritual Coping ◽  
Illness Experiences ◽  
African American Older Adults

Background: Disparities in hospice and palliative care (PC) for African Americans have been linked to mistrust toward the healthcare system, racial inequalities, and cultural preferences. Spirituality has been identified as important to African Americans in general. Less is known about the influence of spirituality on African American illness experiences. Objective: The goal of this study was to understand older African Americans’ perspectives on how spirituality influences chronic illness experiences to inform the development of a culturally tailored PC intervention. Methods: In partnership with 5 churches in the Denver metropolitan area, we conducted focus groups with African American older adults (n = 50) with chronic health conditions and their family caregivers. Transcripts were analyzed using a deductive approach. The theoretical framework for this study draws on psychology of religion research. Results: Themes referenced participants’ spiritual orienting systems, spiritual coping strategies, and spiritual coping styles. Psycho-spiritual struggles, social struggles, and sources of social support were also identified. Findings suggest African Americans’ spirituality influences chronic illness experiences. Participants relied on their spirituality and church community to help them cope with illness. In addition, social struggles impacted the illness experience. Social struggles included mistrust toward the healthcare system and not being connected to adequate resources. Participants expressed a need to advocate for themselves and family members to receive better healthcare. Churches were referred to as a trusted space for health resources, as well as spiritual and social support.

scholarly journals Contextual and Social Characteristics Relevant to Health and Well-Being in African American and White Adult Populations

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 577-577
Author(s):  
Angela Sardina ◽  
Adrienne Aiken-Morgan ◽  
Alyssa Gamaldo
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
African American ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Grocery Stores ◽  
Community Resources ◽  
Housing Developments ◽  
Health And Well Being

Abstract With the burgeoning older adult population, there will be an increased demand for neighborhood and housing developments conducive to the interests and needs of older adults from diverse backgrounds of varying health and functional status. Several initiatives have sought to develop age-friendly neighborhoods, which focused on improving access and affordability of community resources. However, limited effort has focused on physical and social attributes of immediate housing environments, particularly amongst lower-income older adults. The need for affordable and usable housing developments for older adults that provide greater opportunities for social engagement, social services, and convenience to neighborhood resources (e.g., grocery stores, healthcare) will continue to rise. The objectives of the proposed symposium are the following: (1) to explore the physical and social attributes of older and low-income residents’ housing and their surrounding community; and (2) discuss how older and low-income residents’ housing and community resources relates to their health and well-being. This symposium will include presentations from three pilot investigations that highlight relevant subjective and objective contextual metrics related to health and well-being in underserved older populations. Tan and colleagues explored the role of well-being (i.e., purpose in life) in the relationships among sociodemographics, health, housing and community resources. Sardina and colleagues explored perceived leisure barriers and their relationship to sociodemographic, health, and psychosocial characteristics. Aiken-Morgan and colleagues examined associations between neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage and health status among low-income African American older adults. Wright and colleagues explored associations between neighborhood disadvantage, brain health, and neurocognitive function in cognitively normal older adults.

scholarly journals “Especially for People Our Age”: Exploring the Correlates of Ageism During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 601-601
Author(s):  
Jennifer Sublett ◽  
Michael Vale ◽  
Toni Bisconti
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Health And Well Being

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has presented an unprecedented context for older adults where they may feel patronized, isolated, and fearful because of their greater risk of getting COVID-19 and being targets of ageism. Previous researchers have linked ageism negatively with health and well-being; although, the majority of this research has highlighted the negative, or hostile, aspects of ageism, and excluded the overaccommodative and patronizing qualities of benevolent ageism. Since the start of the pandemic, both forms of ageism have been noted to be more salient with claims of an ageism outbreak (Ayalon et al., 2020). The correlates of ageism during the COVID-19 pandemic are widely unknown, and the goal of this study was to explore whether experiences of ageism were related to different affective and health-related responses to the pandemic. In a sample of older adults (N=65) collected in September 2020, we found that benevolent ageism positively correlated with pandemic specific experiences of pity (r=.27, p<.05), loneliness (r=.30, p<.05), worry (r=.40, p<.01), and negatively related to self-reported physical health (r=-.31, p<.05) and emotional well-being (r=-.26, p<.05). Hostile ageism did not relate to pity, but positively correlated with loneliness (r=.25, p<.05) and worry (r=.37, p<.01), and negatively related to physical health (r=-.27, p<.05) and emotional well-being (r=-.38, p<.01). This work provides preliminary evidence of how the lives of older adults have been influenced by COVID-19 and the resulting ageism outbreak. Future research should continue this avenue of study with more expansive and inclusive samples and approaches as the pandemic is not over.

scholarly journals Chronic Respiratory Disease and Health-Related Quality of Life of African American Older Adults in an Economically Disadvantaged Area of Los Angeles

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. 1756 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohsen Bazargan ◽  
James L. Smith ◽  
Paul Robinson ◽  
John Uyanne ◽  
Ruqayyah Abdulrahoof ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
African American ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Economically Disadvantaged ◽  
Disadvantaged Area ◽  
Related Quality ◽  
Health Related ◽  
African American Older Adults

Background. Most of the attention of policy makers, program planners, clinicians, and researchers in the area of physical health disparities among African American older adults has been traditionally focused on cardiometabolic disease and cancer. Among a long list of chronic medical conditions, chronic respiratory conditions (CRCs), such as asthma, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema, have received less attention. Purpose. This study investigated whether CRCs contribute to physical and mental health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of African American older adults who live in economically disadvantaged urban areas, and whether these effects are due to demographic factors, socioeconomic status (SES), health behaviors, and comorbid medical and mental conditions. Methods. This community-based study recruited 617 African American older adults (age ≥ 65 years) from Service Planning Areas (SPA) 6, an economically disadvantaged area in South Los Angeles. Structured face-to-face interviews were used to collect data on demographic factors (age and gender), SES (educational attainment and financial difficulty), living arrangements, marital status, health behaviors (cigarette smoking and alcohol drinking), health (CRC, number of comorbid medical conditions, depressive symptoms, and pain intensity), and physical and mental HRQoL (Physical and Mental Component Summary Scores; PCS and MCS; SF-12). Linear regressions were used to analyze the data. Results. The presence of CRCs was associated with lower PCS and MCS in bivariate analysis. The association between CRCs and PCS remained significant above and beyond all confounders. However, the association between CRCs and MCS disappeared after controlling for confounders. Conclusion. For African American older adults living in economically disadvantaged urban areas, CRCs contribute to poor physical HRQoL. Evaluation and treatment of CRCs in African American older adults may be a strategy for reduction of disparities in HRQoL in this population. As smoking is the major modifiable risk factor for CRCs, there is a need to increase accessibility of smoking cessation programs in economically disadvantaged urban areas. More research is needed on the types, management, and prognosis of CRCs such as asthma, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema in African American older adults who reside in low-income and resource limited urban areas.

A comparison of urban and non-urban African American older adults on health-related characteristics

2018 ◽  
Vol 57 (9) ◽  
pp. 762-773 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyejung Oh ◽  
Hyunjin Noh ◽  
Omar T. Sims ◽  
Yuqi Guo ◽  
Patricia Sawyer
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
African American ◽  
Health Related ◽  
African American Older Adults

scholarly journals THE MEANINGS OF TRUST IN AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES AND THEIR ASSOCIATION WITH PARTICIPATION IN DEMENTIA RESEARCH

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S421-S421
Author(s):  
Elena Portacolone ◽  
Peter Lichtenberg ◽  
Sahru Keiser ◽  
Leah Vest ◽  
Marsha Maloof ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
African American ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Total N ◽  
Dementia Research ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
African American Older Adults

Abstract African American /Black American older adults’ low participation in research reduces the generalizability of research findings and hinders understanding of dementia mechanisms, further widening health disparities. Both the Alzheimer’s Association and the National Institutes of Health have identified recruitment of African Americans with cognitive impairment into dementia research as an area of high priority. Distrust of research and medical institutions is often cited as a barrier to participation of African Americans in dementia research. Therefore, the goal of this study is to better understand African American community members’ expectations associated with trust. We used focus groups and semi-structured interviews to examine the expectations associated with overall trust. We conducted 6 focus groups: 4 with African American older adults and 2 with caregivers of African American older adults with cognitive impairment. We also interviewed 5 African American older adults with cognitive impairment (total n=59). Data were analyzed with content analysis. Five themes emerged: 1) Importance of providing truthful help/information leading to trust; 2) Long relationships leading to trust; 3) Acting efficiently and consistently (e.g., “not fooling around”) leading to trust; 4) Transference of trust (e.g., I can likely trust someone trusted by a trusted person); 5) Difficult to trust because of a harsh social environment. To conclude, trust is a complex belief associated with multiple expectations and relationships. It is critical that researchers understand these expectations related to trust in order to increase recruitment of African American older adults into dementia research.

scholarly journals Neighborhood Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Health Status Among African Americans Living in Low-Income Housing

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 577-578
Author(s):  
Adrienne Aiken-Morgan ◽  
Dextiny McCain ◽  
Karon Phillips ◽  
Keith Whitfield
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
African American ◽  
Health Status ◽  
African Americans ◽  
Social Determinants Of Health ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Socioeconomic Disadvantage ◽  
Determinants Of Health ◽  
African American Older Adults

Abstract Research has shown the importance of social determinants of health in explaining racial/ethnic disparities in many health outcomes; however, less attention has been given to within-group differences in social determinants of health among low-income African American older adults. The Physical and Cognitive Health Pilot Study (n=50) was utilized to examine associations between level of neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage and self-reported health in African American older adults living in public housing in Durham, NC and Annapolis, MD. Results from ANOVA showed that Durham participants living in more disadvantaged neighborhoods had statistically significantly worse cardiovascular health, higher depression symptoms, worse sleep quality, and higher alcohol use (p=.05) than Annapolis participants living in a more resource-rich neighborhood. These findings suggest that among low-income African American elders, greater neighborhood/state socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with worse health status. Future research should consider neighborhood context as an essential variable when assessing health status among aging African Americans.

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