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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Self care for chronic illness
— older African Americans and whites | | Author(s) | Myrna Silverman, Donald Musa, Brenda Kirsch |
| Journal title | Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, vol 14, no 2, June 1999 |
| Pages | pp 169-189 |
| Keywords | Self care capacity ; Chronic illness ; Black people ; White people ; United States of America. |
| Annotation | 221 older African Americans and whites in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania were asked about their use of self-care activities for each of four chronic illnesses: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart disease, diabetes mellitus, and arthritis. The most common response in each of the illnesses was the use of medications or medical treatments for both groups. However, there were some differences in the self-care practices used by these two groups by illness type. Whites reported monitoring their illness significantly more than African Americans for diabetes and using assistive devices in the management of COPD significantly more than African Americans. While both groups practice self care similarly in the management of heart disease, African Americans reported greater use of exercise in their management of arthritis. The amount of assistance provided by others in support of self care varied by illness and by both groups. The differences in self care usage may be attributed to many factors, among them, differences in cultural experiences with the illness, health beliefs regarding its efficacy, and the amount of assistance received from informal supports. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-991012222 A |
| Classmark | CA: CI: TKE: TKA: 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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