Centre for Policy on Ageing



Alternative therapy use among the young-old (ages 65 to 74) — an evaluation of the MIDUS database
Author(s)	Shari McMahan, Rafer Lutz
Journal title	Journal of Applied Gerontology, vol 23, no 2, June 2004
Pages	pp 91-103
Source	http://www.sagepub.com
Keywords	Alternative medicine ; Usage [services] ; Young elderly ; Health [elderly] ; Social surveys ; United States of America.
Annotation	By 2020, 20% of the US population will be age 65+. From a healthcare perspective, there is growing concern about the ageing population. This study includes data from the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS). 335 participants aged 65-74 completed the interview and postal questionnaire. 145 (43.3%) reported using alternative medicine therapies during the previous year. The most common types used were: spiritual practices; exercise or movement therapies; special diets; chiropractic; and meditation. Income, education and sex of respondent were found to be predictive of alternative therapy use in this age group. Results of this study could provide conventional practitioners greater awareness of the health beliefs and practices of their young-old patients. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-040909232 A
Classmark	LK3: QLD: BBA: CC: 3F: 7T
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing

...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.