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Biomedical subjects

C S Kart

Publications and source records attributed to C S Kart.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

Predisposition to self-health care: who does what for themselves and why?

Data collected on a national sample of 714 respondents aged 55 years and over were used to investigate predisposition to self-health care. Three different indicators of self-health care were employed in this work, including a measure of actual self-care behavior (ASCB), a behavioral indicator, and two attitudinal indicators, normative self-care response (NSCR) and global self-care. In OLS regression modeling, predisposing characteristics from the health-behavior model yielded levels of variance consistent with those found in the extant literature on health- and social-services utilization among elderly Americans. Age showed limited utility as an explanatory variable; it appeared as a direct effect only on global self-care. Race was the only variable to achieve a statistically significant effect on NSCR, and being female showed direct effects on ASCB and global self-care.

Black or African American

Factors contributing to the early rehospitalization of elderly people.

The main determinants of rehospitalization of elderly people were studied with a longitudinal sample of 264 persons older than 60 years at a midwestern, urban, university-affiliated hospital. Path analysis was applied to survey data collected for this study. Seventeen percent of subjects were readmitted within 30 days of discharge. Controlling for health and socioeconomic factors, the main determinant of readmission was the discharge placement; those placed back into the community for care in the home were more likely to be rehospitalized than those discharged to institutions. Contrary to predictions in the literature and the authors' expectations, patient involvement in discharge planning had no discernible effect on placement decisions and subsequent hospitalization. The implications of these findings for discharge planning by social workers are discussed.

Activities of Daily Living

Comparing the economically advantaged and the pension elite: 1980 census profiles.

The number of economically advantaged retirees has grown rapidly since World War II. About 50% of retired individuals and 40% of retired households in the U.S. in 1980 had family income of more than double the poverty level. Economically advantaged retired households are most often headed by married, noncentral-city homeowners who show residential stability. They tend to have multiple income sources, some with income from at least three sources (the pension elite).

Aged

A survey of retired dentists in the United States. Council on Dental Practice.

This paper reports on the results of a national survey of retired dentists carried out in the winter and spring of 1984. More than eight in ten of the respondents were general practitioners. Most retirees are between the ages of 60 and 69, married, and report their overall health at retirement to be excellent or good. As do retired scientists, dentists find intrinsic gratification in the work role, but apparently accept retirement as part of the life cycle. Retired dentists have income substantially greater than retirees in general. As is the case for the greater majority of older Americans, Social Security provides an important income support for respondent dentists. However, the primary source of retirement income for dentists comes from savings and investments. One of three retired dentists reports net worth in 1984 as between $200-$499,999. Retired dentists are well adjusted to retirement. Overall, most dentists report high satisfaction with retirement to date. Additional leisure time for hobbies, flexibility in owning one's time, and social activities with family and friends seem the main contributors to this satisfaction. Investment planning, health assessment, enthusiasm for outside interests, and personal preparation for retirement with a spouse are reported as important in retirement planning. Retirement is not a satisfying experience for all dentists. Some do report experiencing uselessness and depression. A still smaller proportion report feelings of loneliness and inadequacy. As is the case for older people in general, solitary activities including reading, watching television, and gardening are important for retired dentists. Most older people attempt to retain activity patterns and preferences developed earlier in life.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Activities of Daily Living

Explicating activity theory: a formal replication.

The principal intent of this paper is to replicate formally the work of Lemon, Bengtson, and Peterson (1972), the first researchers to carefully articulate a systematic statement of the activity theory of aging, but whose test of the theory resulted in disappointing ambiguous findings. Probability samples of three distinct types of retirement communities (N = 1209) provided far greater variation in background variables than existed in the original study. Behaviorally based activity scales were drawn from daily activity inventories rather than the single-item ordinal measures of activity items used in the original research. Multiple Classification Analysis was employed to sort out the effects of each activity type from the others and from the effects of age, gender, and health upon life satisfaction. Different from the results of Lemon, Bengtson, and Peterson, our findings, although mixed, lend strong support to the activity theory of aging. Informal activity contributed positively, strongly, and frequently to the life satisfaction of respondents. Solitary activities had no effect on life satisfaction. Formal activity had a negative effect. All activity effects were similar in the three communities. The implications of these findings for activity theory are discussed at length.

Activities of Daily Living