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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Physical disability and social interaction
— factors associated with low social contact and home confinement in disabled older women (the Women's Health and Aging Study) | | Author(s) | Eleanor M Simonsick, Judith D Kasper, Caroline L Phillips |
| Journal title | The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological sciences and social sciences, vol 53B, no 4, July 1998 |
| Pages | pp S209-S217 |
| Keywords | Older women ; Physical disabilities ; Health [elderly] ; Housebound ; Social interaction ; Social contacts ; Isolation ; Correlation ; United States of America. |
| Annotation | The association of disability and social integration is examined, measured as in-person contact with non-household members and being housebound. Socio-demographic, socio-economic, and health-related factors that modify this relationship are identified. Participants were 1,002 moderately to severely disabled community-dwelling women aged 65 and older from the US Women's Health and Aging Study (WHAS), identified from an age-stratified random sample of Medicare beneficiaries in Baltimore, Maryland (MD). Logistic regression models were used to estimate the odds of low social interaction associated with disability and each independent modifier. In a typical week, 23% did not visit with anyone living outside their households, and 17% did not leave their homes. In addition to and independent of disability level, older age, not completing high school, having a driver in the home, hearing difficulties and incontinence were associated with low social contact. Older age and African American race were related to home confinement. African American women living alone are especially vulnerable to being housebound. Physical disability is not necessarily socially disabling; improving social interaction is possible with more effective healthcare. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-980903243 A |
| Classmark | BD: BN: CC: C6: TMA: TOA: TP: 49: 7T |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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