Purpose: Medicare hospice is a valuable source of quality care at the end of life, but its lower use by racial minority groups is of concern. This study identifies factors associated with hospice use among urban Black and White nursing home (NH) decedents in the United States. Design and Methods: Multiple data sources are combined and multilevel…

Purpose: Description of study participants and documentation of the desired diversity in the Prevention Research Centers Healthy Aging Research Network's Workgroup on Promoting Cognitive Health large multisite study designed to examine attitudes about brain health, behaviors associated with its maintenance, and information-receiving preferences…

Purpose of the Study: This study contrasts 2-year adjustments in disabled husbands' and wives' amount of received care following both worsening and recovery in personal (activities of daily living [ADLs]) and routine care (instrumental activities of daily living [IADLs]) disability. Design and Methods: Using longitudinal data on 789 husbands and…

Purpose: We examined race/ethnicity and cultural context within hypothetical end-of-life medical decision scenarios and its influence on patient-proxy agreement. Design and Methods: Family dyads consisting of an older adult and 1 family member, typically an adult child, responded to questions regarding the older adult's preferences for…

Purpose: This study evaluates the role of older family members as providers of social resources within familial network systems affected by an inherited cancer susceptibility syndrome. Design and Methods: Respondents who previously participated in a study that involved genetic counseling and testing for Lynch syndrome and their family network…

Purpose: This study assessed the effectiveness of Active Start, a community-based behavior change and fitness program, designed to promote physical activity among sedentary community-dwelling older adults. Design and Methods: A quasi-experimental design was used. Data were analyzed using a within-group pretest-post-test design to calculate changes…

Supported earlier findings of Black-White differences in attitudes toward the elderly. Blacks under 65 have more favorable attitudes than Whites under 65. Suggests a gap exists between the perceptions of younger Blacks and the reality experienced by older Blacks. (JAC)

Purpose: Pathological gambling is an increasing public health concern, but very little is known about this disorder in older adults. This study evaluated gambling and psychosocial problems across age groups in treatment-seeking gamblers. Design and Methods: At intake to gambling treatment programs, 343 pathological gamblers completed the Addiction…

Compared people 65 and over with those under 65 on arrests over a 20-year period. Found elderly people had much lower arrest rates than non-elderly population, but elderly arrestees were more likely to be arrested for homicide and assault. Trend suggests that crimes elderly are arrested for are becoming more similar to those of non-elderly.…

Compared extent and patterns of financial planning among 234 Black professionals with those of White professionals. Data revealed similar expectations of continued income, supplementing finances by working in another occupation, pension income, and dependency on spouses for income. Although Blacks invested less in stocks and bonds and bank…

Purpose: This study used epidemiological data of older African Americans and Caucasians living in an urban community to compare those factors associated with active or passive suicidal ideation in each racial group. Design and Methods: Using 1990 census data for Brooklyn, New York, we attempted to interview all cognitively intact adults aged 55 or…

There is little evidence to suggest that being gay causes problems in old age but there is considerable evidence to suggest that societal stigma may cause problems for aging gays. Presented at the 28th Annual Scientific Meeting of Gerontological Society, Louisville, Oct., 1975. (Author)

Focuses on the types and amount of support given by the social support subsystems of elderly blacks and whites. Multiple classification analysis indicated racial differences in types and amount of support provided by the informal and formal social support systems but not to the degree suggested by previous research. (Author/ABB)

Purpose: This study addresses the question of how the relation between self-rated health (SRH) and mortality differs between genders. In addition to the general question, four specific concepts of SRH are distinguished: SRH in comparison with age peers, SRH in comparison with one's own health 10 years ago, and current and future health…

Analyzes the development of women's pensions compared to the progress of men's benefits from 1960 to 1980 in industrial countries. Comparisons are based on benefit amounts of average wage earners in manufacturing. Findings are that women's benefits did not keep pace with men's pensions in 5 of the nations studied. (Author/ABB)