Joyce Weil

Aging in Saudi Arabia An Exploratory Study of Contemporary Older Persons’ Views About Daily Life, Health, and the Experience of Aging

Objective: This exploratory study sought to measure current self-reported experiences of older Saudi adults. Method: Self-reported aging perceptions and demographic data from semistructured questions were obtained from 52 community-dwelling older Saudi adults aged 50 or older. A thematic content analysis was completed around issues of family life/social support, daily/weekly activities, health and health programs, and older adults’ own thoughts about aging and the experience and future of personal aging. Results: Several key themes emerged from the interviews. The majority of respondents in this preliminary study acknowledge a preference for family care. Formal programs in Saudi Arabia are attended with relative infrequency while older adults recognize family support as the preferred method of support. Older Saudi interviewees hold a positive view of aging, but physical functioning, varying financial resources, and other daily obligations are a concern for those in this study. Discussion: Data suggest as the Saudi population ages, more research is needed on the aging experience with particiular emphasis on issues relevant to older adults . Future research must work to clarify the aging experience as cultural context changes.

Exploring the Relationships Among Performance-Based Functional Ability, Self-Rated Disability, Perceived Instrumental Support, and Depression A Structural Equation Model Analysis

Data from the Women’s Health and Aging Study were used to test a model of factors explaining depressive symptomology. The primary purpose of the study was to explore the association between performance-based measures of functional ability and depression and to examine the role of self-rated physical difficulties and perceived instrumental support in mediating the relationship between performance-based functioning and depression. The inclusion of performance-based measures allows for the testing of functional ability as a clinical precursor to disability and depression: a critical, but rarely examined, association in the disablement process. Structural equation modeling supported the overall fit of the model and found an indirect relationship between performance-based functioning and depression, with perceived physical difficulties serving as a significant mediator. Our results highlight the complementary nature of performance-based and self-rated measures and the importance of including perception of self-rated physical difficulties when examining depression in older persons.

Comparisons Between Hispanic and Non-Hispanic White Informal Caregivers

This study focuses on understanding similarities and differences between non-Hispanic White and Hispanic informal caregivers of those with Alzheimer’s disease. Comparisons take place between caregivers reporting high levels of burden as indicated by the Zarit Burden Inventory. Data suggest similarities and differences between Hispanic (n = 17) and non-Hispanic White (n = 17) caregivers in this study in several areas. Hispanic caregivers indicated fewer sources of income, had less investment money for family member’s treatment, reported caregiving as a greater interference with life’s accomplishments, and indicated a lesser percentage of the total care cost provided by the family member. Non-Hispanic White caregivers reported having completed a higher level of formal education and that organized religion’s importance prior to becoming a caregiver was not quite as important as compared with the Hispanic care provider. With current trends, of demographic and cultural changes, it is crucial to fully understand the changing role and needs of both Hispanic and non-Hispanic White caregivers.

Social Support, Mood, and Resiliency Following a Peruvian Natural Disaster

The intent of this research project was to collect data from individuals in Vina Vieja, Peru, who experienced a devastating earthquake in 2007 and two subsequent earthquakes in 2010. Collected in June 2010, these data for 35 individuals were analyzed using independent sample t tests and qualitative theme analysis. When added to findings from a previous study of Hurricane Katrina survivors in 2006, the present research about the Peruvian experience in Vina Vieja fills a conceptual gap pertaining to understanding factors that predict resiliency among survivors of natural disasters. It is part of an ongoing interdisciplinary research project that seeks to understand how resilience is experienced within and across cultures and to create a conceptual framework for resilience.

Understanding Latino Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Through a Bioecological Lens

The purpose of this article is to provide a summary of the published research addressing the challenges and strengths of Latino grandparents raising grandchildren in the United States. Using the bioecological framework as a guide to organize and understand the published literature addressing Latino grandparent caregivers, we examined refereed articles published over the past 19 years. This framework provides a lens for understanding and situating research on Latino grandparents raising grandchildren to discover Latino grandparents’ strengths and challenges. The areas of foci include financial challenges, intergenerational relationships, reasons for caregiving, health status, language barriers, and culture. This article concludes with future research opportunities and a call to action for more research on Latino grandparents raising grandchildren.

Recruiting older adults as participants in applied social research: Applying and evaluating approaches from clinical studies

ABSTRACT While issues of recruiting older persons in clinical trials are well known, efficacious strategies in the recruitment process in applied social research are less explored. As more research becomes community-based, it is useful to see, if effective clinical-trial recruitment strategies can be applied to social and applied research studies. The goal of this article is to examine clinical recruitment strategies used with older adults (e.g. print and electronic advertising, referrals, and community-partnered approaches) in applied social research studies and to illustrate issues arising from the use of each recruitment approach with older adults in real-life settings. Experiences from four community-based, social research studies are included to show how some of the most successful clinical recruitment strategies fare in social gerontological studies. Specific guidelines are provided about how recruitment strategies can aid in future study planning and improved recruitment of older participants in social research.

Revaluating aging in place: from traditional definitions to the continuum of care

Purpose Traditional definitions of aging in place often define aging in place specifically as the ability to remain in one’s own home or community setting in later life. The purpose of this paper is to reframe aging in place and show how narrowly defined aging in place models can be potentially negative constructs that limit options for older adults. The authors propose a paradigm shift, or a re-framing of, the popularized idea of aging in place. The authors challenge mainstream and literature-based beliefs that are deeply rooted to the idea that aging in place ideally happens in the home in which a person has lived for many years. Design/methodology/approach The paper reviews common concepts and constructs associated with aging in place as well as gaps or exclusions, and US-based aging in place policy initiatives favoring the aging in place model. Findings An expanded definition of aging in place embraces heterogeneity in residence types and living options. A realistic assessment of person-environment fit, matching an older person’s capabilities to his or her environmental demands, allows for the development of additional aging in place options for those living across the continuum of care. Social implications Aging in place should be moved from the personal “success” or “failure” of an older individual to include the role of society and societal views and policies in facilitating or hindering aging in place options. The authors demonstrate that these options, in facilities within the continuum of care, can be thought of as appealing for older persons of all levels of physical and cognitive functioning. Originality/value Research about aging in place tends to stress the value of one place (one’s home) over other living settings. This limits the ability of people to age in place and curtails discussion of all the items necessary to maintain place.

Applying Research Methods to a Gerontological Population: Matching Data Collection to Characteristics of Older Persons

As Baby Boomers reach 65 years of age and methods of studying older populations are becoming increasingly varied (e.g., including mixed methods designs, on-line surveys, and video-based environments), there is renewed interest in evaluating methodologies used to collect data with older persons. The goal of this article is to examine data-collection methodologies commonly used with older persons (closed-ended, structured surveys with standardized scales, performance-based measures, secondary data sets, open-ended interviewing, grounded theory, and ethnographic work) to illustrate issues arising from the use of each research design with older adults in real-life settings. Experiences from five studies are included to show the potential role of normative age-related sensory and functional changes as well as the role of age and cohort upon method. Specific guidelines are provided about how to improve existing data-collection methods for older persons and ways to improve selection of methodologies for use in future research on aging.

“Pues a mi me da gusto, porque ando con mis nietos”; Latina Grandmothers Raising Grandchildren Reflect About Identity and the Caregiving Role over the Lifecourse

While research exists about grandmothers raising grandchildren, we know much less about the way Latina grandmothers2 see their role as grandparents who provide primary care as it relates to their identity throughout the lifecourse.3 According to the US Census of the 6.7 million grandparents raising grandchildren, approximately 17 percent of these grandparents were of Latin origin (Fuller-Thomson and Minkler 2007; Goodman and Rao 2007). By understanding more about how women see this grandmothering role and expectation as a part of their life-course, Latina grandmothers’ views about caregiving can be better understood from their own perspectives. Rodriquez-Galan (2013) has reviewed ethnographies of minority families and found that none included Latino grandmothers as a main focus. She has found that literature suggests that grandmothers hold an “especial” (special) role in communities of color but calls for more sociological studies exploring minority elders’ roles as caregivers and not as perceived care recipients (444). Early research by Park et al. (2004) has suggested: “any discussion of grandparent caregiving practices must acknowledge the considerable influence of cultural preferences in enacting the grandparent role” (122). According to Tarrant (2010) there has been a lack of attention to grandparents across the social sciences resulting in few studies that have explored how the intersection of ethnicity, gender, and age influences the construction of grandmotherhood, spatially or as an everyday lived experience.4

Aging in Tunisia

Owing in part to its diversity of citizenship, Tunisia has a rich history of economic and social changes-including some of the same age-based demographic changes witnessed globally. Faced with an increasing older population and fewer young adults available to provide support, the government of Tunisia has implemented policies for the older population. These new governmental policies are intended to provide limited funds for older adults to supplement financial assistance provided by their families. Yet, even with a demographic transition occurring, recent published research on the aging Tunisian adult is limited at best. Policy change and research that improve the well-being of Tunisias aging population must be based on adequate data. Thus, understanding the state of aging in Tunisia provides policymakers and researchers more complete information to use in decision making. Further studies should address more aspects of the Tunisian aging experience and add data that are more contemporary.