Ford, Angela A.
(2006)
EXPLORING HEALTH BEHAVIOR IN OLDER BLACK WOMEN.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
Older adults, like any other age group, have a diverse set of health beliefs, health seeking patterns, and health practices, all of which have the potential to influence health behavior and ultimately health outcomes. The purpose of this study was to further the understanding of health behavior among elderly African American women, with 'health behavior' encompassing the combination of health related beliefs, patterns of health seeking behavior, and health practices in relation to both acute health problems and acute episodes of chronic conditions. The investigation was intended to answer two questions: 1. What are the health-related behaviors of older African American women? 2. Are age, education, living arrangement, and marital status related to their perceived health status? This study was both exploratory and descriptive, using content analysis as the method for examining responses related to health behavior among 45 elderly African American women, aged 67 and older living in Allegheny County. The data were originally collected for a supplemental grant to a controlled randomized prospective study entitled Geriatric Health Care and Assessment (RO1 AG08276), funded by the National Institute on Aging in 1992. Key Concepts of the Noel Chrisman model (1977) for a health seeking process, along with selected questions from the supplemental study's semi-structured questionnaire, provide the organizing framework for this exploration. These concepts include: symptom definition, illness- shifts in role behavior, lay consultation and referral, treatment actions and adherence. Given the importance of perceived health status, this variable was evaluated for relationships with selected demographic characteristics: age, education, income, living arrangement and marital status and other health behavior measures included in the study. In addition, I examined perceptions of care and race and gender preferences since these were themes emerging as a result of the questions asked in the study.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
|
| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
3 May 2006 |
| Date Type: |
Completion |
| Defense Date: |
25 April 2005 |
| Approval Date: |
3 May 2006 |
| Submission Date: |
29 April 2006 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
School of Social Work > Social Work |
| Degree: |
PhD - Doctor of Philosophy |
| Thesis Type: |
Doctoral Dissertation |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
African American; Older Adults; Women |
| Other ID: |
http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-04292006-092351/, etd-04292006-092351 |
| Date Deposited: |
10 Nov 2011 19:43 |
| Last Modified: |
15 Nov 2016 13:42 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/7725 |
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