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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Comparison Of Advance Care Planning Interventions And Older Adults’ Advance Directive Completion Rates, Tammy Biehler Jan 2020

Comparison Of Advance Care Planning Interventions And Older Adults’ Advance Directive Completion Rates, Tammy Biehler

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite the benefits of advance care planning (ACP), only one third of older adults in the United States have completed it. To address this gap, health care organizations are implementing ACP programs to engage older adults in the process. These programs can be delivered in various ways, including 1:1 conversations, classes, and web-based tools. The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate which ACP option was associated with highest participation and advance directive (AD) completion rates in older adults. Social cognitive theory provided the framework to understand the impact the ACP environment and personal characteristics’ have on the odds …


Life Satisfaction And Healthcare Utilization Among Immigrants To The United States, Merritt Christian Rachel Harrelson Aug 2019

Life Satisfaction And Healthcare Utilization Among Immigrants To The United States, Merritt Christian Rachel Harrelson

LSU Master's Theses

Previous research suggests a relationship between life satisfaction and healthcare utilization or HCU (Habibov & Afandi, 2016; Kim, Park, Sun, Smith, & Peterson, 2014). However, no study was found that examined this relationship among elderly American immigrants. The purpose of this study was to determine whether life satisfaction is linked to HCU for this population. The researcher of the current study applied binary logistic regression to data taken from the Health and Retirement Survey to determine whether changes in life satisfaction could be linked to variance in HCU across seven domains, including hospitalization, overnight nursing home stays, doctors visits, dentist …


A Phenomenological Study Of Methadone Treatment By Opiate-Dependent Individuals Ages 50-55 Years, Lamart Hightower Jan 2016

A Phenomenological Study Of Methadone Treatment By Opiate-Dependent Individuals Ages 50-55 Years, Lamart Hightower

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Today's methadone patients differ from those of the past due to increases in polydrug use, mental health issues, and medical needs. Patients requiring methadone treatment for their opiate addiction are now older than those who initially presented for treatment when methadone treatment first started. The number of older opiate users will continue to grow as the population continues to age. Although previous studies on opiate addiction focused on using methadone in treatment of younger adults, this study used phenomenological methodology to explore the lived experiences of opiate addicted methadone users between the ages of 50 to 55, an understudied population. …


"I Own My T!" : The Experience Of Older Transgender People Of Color Regarding Personal Identity, Systems Of Support, And Desires For The Future, Venae N. Rodriguez Jan 2016

"I Own My T!" : The Experience Of Older Transgender People Of Color Regarding Personal Identity, Systems Of Support, And Desires For The Future, Venae N. Rodriguez

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

While it has been widely reported that transgender individuals experience mistreatment in all aspects of life, transgender people of color, who have rarely been the focus of studies, are faced with even higher incidents of bias (Auldridge, et al., 2012; Dunn & Moodie-Mills, 2012; Grant, et al., 2011). Especially absent is writing on older transgender people of color (Auldridge, et al., 2012; Cook-Daniels, 2015; Fredricksen-Goldsen, et al., 2013; Persson, 2009; Van Wagenen, Driskell & Bradford, 2013). Also missing is literature on the resiliency of transgender people of color and transgender elders. Finally, of the few studies that do exist, most …


Sleep Extension And Stable Sleep Schedules In Older Adults, Alexandria M. Reynolds Jan 2015

Sleep Extension And Stable Sleep Schedules In Older Adults, Alexandria M. Reynolds

Theses and Dissertations

There is consistent evidence demonstrating a “U-shaped” association between sleep duration and mortality, as well as several morbidities, such as increased systemic inflammation, decreased cognitive performance, and mood disturbances. Much of the information on long sleep is epidemiological in nature. The present study examined the associations between sleep duration and extension on mood, inflammation, and cognition. Ten (50-79 y) healthy adults who report sleeping 6-8 h were assessed on cognitive, emotional, and inflammatory measures in a cross-over design. Following a baseline week, participants were randomized to one of two three-week treatments: (1) a control treatment of habitual time in bed; …


Examining The Risk And Protective Factors That Influence Falls Among Native American Older Adults, Kelly Winjum Jan 2014

Examining The Risk And Protective Factors That Influence Falls Among Native American Older Adults, Kelly Winjum

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The risk factors for falls and the adverse outcomes of falls have been well documented among the general older adult population. However, fall frequency, fall risk factors, and fall outcomes have rarely been studied among minority groups specifically. Furthermore, to date there are no known studies that exclusively examine falls among Native American older adults. The purpose of this study is to examine falls among Native American older adults, in order to understand the risk and protective factors for falling among this population, and to develop recommendations for intervention. The theoretical framework of the Disablement Process guides this study. The …


Life Transitions, Social Support And Psychological Well-Being Among The Elderly In Taiwan : A Longitudinal Study, Shiau-Fang Chao Jan 2010

Life Transitions, Social Support And Psychological Well-Being Among The Elderly In Taiwan : A Longitudinal Study, Shiau-Fang Chao

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This study examines the relationships between life transitions, social support and psychological well-being. A decline in health and financial strain were selected as two types of chronic stressors and loss of a spouse as an acute stressor. This study integrates previous literature and develops a unique predictive model involving seven components of social support -- social network size, social network composition, frequency of social contact, satisfaction with social support, types of support, helping others, and proximity of support. Depression and life satisfaction were the two measures of psychological well-being. 3,585 elders who were interviewed up to five times over a …


An Exploration Of The Effects Of Long-Term Intimate Partner Violence: Listening To Older Women, Suzanne Lowe Dec 2008

An Exploration Of The Effects Of Long-Term Intimate Partner Violence: Listening To Older Women, Suzanne Lowe

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract AN EXPLORATION OF THE EFFECTS OF LONG-TERM INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE: LISTENING TO OLDER WOMEN By Suzanne Faries Lowe, Ph.D. A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2008 Chairman of Committee Laura J. Moriarty, Ph.D. Professor of Criminal Justice Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs There has been a great deal of research during the past four decades on the topic of domestic violence. Very little research has been conducted, however, on the effects of long-term intimate partner violence on older women. The …