Purpose: This study has two purposes. First, it determines if there is a relationship between body weight and the onset of functional impairment across time among this sample of older adults. More specifically, it examines if obese older adults are more likely to experience the onset of functional impairment. Second, it explores how health…

The authors examine the effects of service barriers on the health status of older Chinese immigrants in Canada. A survey was completed in seven Canadian cities by a random sample of 2,214 older Chinese immigrants age 55 years or older. Service barriers related to administrative problems, personal attitudes, and circumstantial difficulties were…

Physical health has consistently been shown to strongly influence the retirement decision-making process. Unfortunately, "physical health" is typically operationalized in global terms. As a result, we know little about the specific aspects of physical health that influence the decision to retire. Therefore, in the present study, data from three…

Objectives: Are people 75 or over enabled to stay at home longer through annual assessments and referrals to health/social services than through assessments only or without assessments? Design: Randomized controlled trial. Participants: 520 people 75 or over living in their own homes. Intervention: Four annual RAI-HC computerized functional…

Intellectual ability is assessed with the Spot-the-Word (STW) test (A. Baddeley, H. Emslie, & I. Nimmo Smith, 1993) by asking respondents to identify a word in a word-nonword item pair. Results in moderate-sized samples suggest this ability is resistant to decline due to dementia. The authors used a 3-parameter item response theory model to…

Purpose: Relationships are examined between age and out-of-pocket costs for different health goods and services among the older population. Design and Methods: Age patterns in health service use and out-of-pocket costs are examined by use of the 1990 Elderly Health Supplement to the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (N = 1,031, age 66+). Multivariate…

An insight on a small convenience sample of urban Indians elders in the Rochester, New York, area who are active in the local Native community is presented. Many of the elders enjoy a high degree of physical, mental, and emotional well-being, despite some chronic health conditions and their strong extended family support network, involvement in…

This article reports on a study that explored the prevalence and predictors of functional disability that are due to visual problems as opposed to functional disability that is due to other health problems. It also discusses the implications for psychosocial and rehabilitative interventions that target different types of disability. (Contains 5…

This study examined how older adults cope with negative life events in health, interpersonal, and financial/work domains and whether common stress and coping processes hold across these three domains. On three occasions, older adults identified the most severe negative event they faced in the last year and described how they appraised and coped…

Factors influencing expansion of instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) caregiver networks beyond the spouse/partner were studied, using data from the Asset and Health Dynamics among the Oldest Old (AHEAD) nationally representative sample of American elders (ages 70 and older). Analyses were based on 427 Black and White couples in which…

Purpose: We attempt to determine whether older workers and early retirees avoid managed care plans and to explore whether health plan choices are linked to the health status of workers or their spouses. Design and Methods: We use the responses of those born between 1931 and 1941 to the 1994 and 1998 waves of the Health and Retirement Survey. We…

A description is presented of a file of data, derived from a longitudinal study of the biological and behavioral functioning, of a group of 47 healthy aged males. The background of the investigation is summarized, along with the procedures followed in developing the file and setting it up for access. (Author)

Notes that most American institutions are unwittingly geared to age prejudice as in past times they were geared to race prejudice and sex prejudice. In determining needs and abilities, age is quite as irrelevant as is race. (Author/AM)

Kahneman and Tversky's (1979) Prospect theory was tested as a model of preferences for prolonging life under various hypothetical health statuses. A sample of 384 elderly people living in congregate housing (263 healthy, 131 frail) indicated how long (if at all) they would want to live under each of nine hypothetical health conditions (e.g.,…

This paper, on the health hazards of cold weather for elderly persons, presents information from various sources on the death rates in winter throughout the United States. After reviewing the scope of the problem, specific health hazards associated with cold weather are discussed, i.e., hypothermia, fires, carbon monoxide poisoning, and influenza…