Susan Feldman

'Is Anybody Listening?' The Experiences of Widowhood for Older Australian Women Susan Feldman, MA

ABSTRACT This paper discusses preliminary findings from participants in the baseline survey of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Womens Health (Womens Health Australia: WHA) who reported their marital status as widowed. A total of 12624 women, aged 70–75 years, completed a self-administered 260-item questionnaire, and 4335 of these women were widowed. Many of these women provided additional qualitative comments about their health, social and financial circumstances after the death of their spouse. This paper presents a thematic analysis of the qualitative comments and builds on the findings of the quantitative analysis of baseline data. The aims of this part of the study are to examine the short- and long-term effects of widowhood on the health and wellbeing of older women and to explore the process of change they experience after the death of a spouse. Preliminary findings suggest that, as a key life event, widowhood has an initial negative impact on the health and wellbeing of older women, but in the long term it may be accompanied by a positive shift into a new life phase.

Looking Back, Looking Forward Reflections on Using a Life History Review Tool With Older People

The aim of this article is to examine the use of the Self-Discovery Tapestry (SDT) tool, a life history review instrument, and its application to an Australian qualitative study of community-dwelling older people aged 80 years and more. The researchers set out to engage with older people through an innovative research approach that acknowledged their experiences and recognized their skills and capacities across the course of their lives. The article reports and assesses this research instrument as a tool for gathering data in narrative studies involving older people. It proposes that the instrument, with some modifications might be used to further develop specific knowledge of aging to benefit research, education, and practice in gerontology. By undertaking to critique the research processes, the authors hope to show the value of incorporating a critical appraisal approach that may prove useful for strengthening further research in this area of inquiry.

Gender and Health Issues in Ageing

Abstract. There are pronounced gender differences relating to health and ageing reflecting biological and social differences and transitions and adaption to these. The most obvious biological difference is that women have a finite length of reproductive functioning, the termination of which is marked by menopause. The menopausal transition has physical, psychological and sexual concomitants. Postmenopausal life is characterise by increased cardiovascular and osteoporotic risk. Interventions for these disorders have not been adequately evaluated. Men live on average about 7 years less than women in most developed countries. Women form the majority of carers. The most common cost of caring is social, a restriction in personal and leisure time, and is directly related to the amount of care provided. The negative health effects of caring are primarily psychological, not physical. Most of the widowed are women. An Australian study found that women widowed in the last 12 months had lower self‐ related health and were more likely to report they were stressed about their health. Recently widowed women scored lower on all the subscales of the SF‐36 and were also more likely to be taking medication for ‘;nerves’ and ‘;medication to help you sleep’. Women widowed longer than 12 months did not score significantly differently than married women on these parameters. Widowed women reported more difficulty managing on their income than did married women, regardless of the length of widowhood. Widows also reported more stress with children and other family members than did married women.

Book Review: Families in Ageing Societies: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach

In recent years, there has been a burgeoning number of books that deal with the ageing of the population. In the introduction to this timely and comprehensive publication, editor Sara Harper firmly establishes a different emphasis for this book in her initial observations. Harper argues that any discussion about longevity and the ageing of the world’s population must not be viewed in isolation from broader social, economic and political contexts. This theme is echoed in the 10 lively and stimulating chapters written by 18 notable contributors, who explore the topic of family and growing older within these contexts. The first chapter in the collection, also authored by Harper, sets the scene for a broad and expansive debate about issues that concern families and older people alike. Foremost in this informative piece, Harper reflects on how, regardless of what constitutes the family within contemporary western industrialized society, family and the relationships and interactions within it continue to play an important and pivotal role in the lives of all members. However, as Harper argues, families in the 21st century have not been immune to the rapid changes in social, cultural, political and economic life; this is a central theme reflected throughout the volume by other authors. Globally, women and men are now living longer than their predecessors and according to Harper these demographic changes present a sound case for taking a multidisciplinary approach to any understanding of the impact of these changes. This is with particular regard to the diversity and fragmentation that characterize the postmodern family. Although the chapters are not formally organized into separate sections, the book presents a logical order of the key issues of relevance to ageing societies. A number of the authors in this book report on quantitative and qualitative studies, while others present theoretical perspectives that encourage the reader to rethink established ideas and focus instead on new ideas about challenges and changes to family life within the context of a society that is ageing. The first three chapters set out to provide an overview of the demographic and social determinants affecting aspects of modern family life. As Harper clearly sets out in the first chapter, family roles and relationships are subject to the influences of wider social and cultural change and it is in this context that any meaningful discussions about ageing must be undertaken. Within family structures, members may give and receive care and provide economic, physical and emotional support. At the same time, the extended family may provide the basis for kinship networks that straddle different generations. Thus it is heartening to see that a significant number of contributors to this book highlight the importance of understanding the reciprocal relationships that exist between generations within the context of the current diversity that is the postmodern family. Reviews: Gendering Feldman