Dimensions of Human Behavior
The Changing Life Course
Journal Articles
Questions that apply to all articles
What are several factors associated with the elderly and healthcare usage?
In what ways does race impact healthcare usage?
Objective: To test the hypothesis that everyday, discrete negative emotions—anger, frustration, sadness, and fear—relate to health-service use in later life. Method: Community-dwelling adults (n= 345) ages 72 to 99 were interviewed about the frequency of recently experienced emotions. Physician visits and hospital admissions in the subsequent 2 years were outcomes. Covariates included prior use of health services, chronic illness, functional status, and demographics. Results: Age, education, and gender moderated relations between negative emotions and health care use. More frustration was associated with fewer physician visits among older individuals. Sadness was associated with more hospital admissions for women. Among those with more education, frequent anger was associated with more physician visits. Projected effects of negative emotions resulted in increases in health-service use, ranging from 18% to 33%. Discussion: The interactions indicate the importance of negative emotions and the larger social and developmental context in health care services use among elderly individuals.
- In what ways may the emotions of the elderly influence health care use?
The authors sought to contribute to public policy on U.S. immigrants by comparing patterns of health care use among the Mexican-origin population aged 70 and older in the United States and Mexico. They studied the role of health insurance in the propensity to have doctor visits and hospitalizations, controlling for aspects of health and the economic and sociodemographic characteristics of individuals. The authors found that the elderly of Mexican origin in the United States were more likely to be hospitalized than those in Mexico, regardless of health insurance. However, in the absence of health insurance, visits to doctors were more likely in Mexico than in the United States. The results indicate that although in both countries, the availability of health insurance is associated with a higher propensity to use any health care services, a lack of health insurance may have more negative consequences for primary health care in the United States than in Mexico.
- How do patterns of health care use differ among Mexican-origin elderly in the United States and Mexico?
Medicare, as a publicly funded insurance program, has produced significant improvement in the overall health of America’s elderly populations. However, health disparities still persist between Hispanic and non-Hispanic White populations in terms of overall access to health services. This study utilized data from the Hispanic Established Population for Epidemiological Studies of the Elderly (H-EPESE) survey (1993 to 1994), to compare the relationship between levels of English proficiency and access to Medicare and other health insurance among 3,050 Hispanics who were elderly. Results of chi-square tests of independence indicated a significant relationship (p = .001) between respondents’ levels of English proficiency and access to Medicare and other health insurance. Implications regarding the impact of limited English proficiency on access to adequate health care for Hispanics who are elderly are discussed.
- How does English proficiency impact access to health care for the elderly?
The authors used the Andersen model to compare older adults’ help seeking from clergy to help seeking from other sources of formal mental health services. Data were from the Naturally Occurring Retirement Community Demonstration Project. Multinomial logistic regression was used to compare sources from which help was sought. The results indicate that older adults sought help from clergy more frequently than from other formal sources. Increased stress levels, higher intrinsic religiosity, and being younger were related to seeking help from clergy. Greater stress and attendance at religious services were related to help seeking from other sources. Only greater frequency of attending religious services was associated with a greater likelihood of seeking help from clergy versus other formal providers. The increasing elderly population and the attendant crisis in mental health services might best be addressed through public-private partnerships in which mental health professionals assist clergy in identifying problems and making appropriate referrals.
- What factors influence elderly person’s use of mental health services?
In this study, we integrate insights from the life-course and stress-process perspectives to argue that adult children's negative treatment of parents, as well as negative events that children experience, detrimentally affect elderly parents' mental health over time. We argue that these strains may affect mothers more than fathers, and blacks more than whites, because of the greater importance of the parental role to these groups in late life. Using data from more than 600 older African American and white parents over a four-year period, we show that negative treatment by adult children is positively related to changes in depression and anger, but effects on depression are limited to black parents and effects on anger are limited to mothers. Adult children becoming ill or unemployed positively relates to changes in distress over time, but only for black parents. Surprisingly, marital dissolution by adult children is related to decreases in anger for black parents. This research indicates that the social-psychological implications of the parental role do not end when children are adults; however, the influence on mental health in old age may vary by social status.
- What factors affect older adults’ mental health?