Purpose: This study examined employment of specific recruitment and retention strategies in a study evaluating outcomes of a moderate activity exercise program for older African American women with functional impairments attending a Program for All-Inclusive Care of Elders (PACE). Design and Methods: Recruitment and retention strategies focused on…

Purpose: This research combined cross-sectional and longitudinal data to characterize age-related trajectories in physical disability for adults with and without diabetes in the United States and to investigate if those patterns differ by age, gender, race or ethnicity, and education. Design and Methods: Data were examined on 20,433 adults aged 51…

Purpose: As part of an ongoing effort to analyze the distributional implications of potential policy reforms to the U.S. Social Security system, we consider the widely discussed reform of earnings sharing. Such an approach has been viewed as a way to "update" Social Security's family benefits based on marital status and as a means to…

Purpose: This study evaluates the changes in social networks of older and younger breast cancer patients over a 6-month period following their first diagnosis and how such modifications are associated with changes in the patients' mood state. Design and Methods: Newly diagnosed breast cancer patients were interviewed shortly after their diagnosis…

Purpose: This article estimates the effects of alcohol consumption on self-reported overall health status, injuries, heart problems, emergency room use, and hospitalizations among persons older than the age of 65. Design and Methods: We analyzed data from the first wave of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, a…

Purpose: Research suggests that men and women often differ in knowledge and beliefs about causes and treatments of a variety of diseases. This study examines gender differences in views about cognitive health and behaviors that have been associated with its maintenance, focusing on older adults living in rural areas. Design and Methods: We…

Purpose: We describe the prevalence, types, duration, frequency, and severity of intimate partner violence ("partner violence") in older women. Design and Methods: We randomly sampled a total of 370 English-speaking women (65 years of age and older) from a health care system to participate in a cross-sectional telephone interview. Using 5…

Examined effect of low-impact aerobic dance on 53 sedentary older women. After 12 weeks of dance, subjects improved significantly on all functional fitness components except motor control/coordination, including cardiorespiratory endurance, strength/endurance, body agility, flexibility, body fat, and balance. (Author/NB)

Explored regrets about childlessness in 90 older women interviewed using qualitative methods. Discussed regrets in context of changing meaning of childlessness over life course. Found issues of regret situated in cultural system that renders childless women marginal. Argues that regrets should be understood in wider cultural context that…

Analyzed 300 widowed women, age 60 or older, regarding financial experience prior to widowhood, planning undertaken before death of spouse, and effects on well-being in early widowhood. Results indicated that preparation was associated with somewhat better well-being among widows, but financial experience prior to widowhood had no effect.…

Older rural adults were classified as either high or low risks for loneliness according to a combination of physical and social losses that they had incurred. Frequent loneliness was associated with widowhood, poor vision and self-rated health, problems with transportation, frequent use of telephone, low participation and being female. (Author)

Examined the friendship patterns of older women. Identified three independent dimensions of network evolution. Found that the patterns of change on these dimensions varied across middle-class status groups, but the members of each group tended to have reversed their middle-aged friendship patterns. (Author/ABB)

Studied women (N=115) with osteoporosis who reported their major problems to be pain and their inability to do housework. Results showed most viewed their family as being supportive, reporting they frequently received help from their children. Those with lower incomes and specific fractures reported receiving the most help. (Author/ABL)

Used data from the 1982 National Long-Term Care Survey and Informal Caregivers Survey to create a descriptive profile which showed that informal caregivers were predominantly female, that a sizeable proportion were over age 65, and that a minority of caregivers used formal services. (Author/ABL)

Compared four samples of elderly women: living alone, with other persons, and with and without a pet. Pets only made a difference for those living alone. At best, pets only attenuate the sense of loneliness. In intervention with the elderly, the provision of human supports should remain a priority. (Author/BL)