<p> This thesis compared the perceptions of older adult recovering substance abusers with the perceptions of alcohol and drug treatment providers on what each sample believed would be the most appropriate delivery methods and locations for alcohol and drug treatment services to individuals 50 years of age and older. Sixty participants, 30 subjects from each sample group, completed a questionnaire created by the researcher. Results showed there were no significant differences in perceptions of older adult substance abusers and drug treatment providers about the most appropriate treatment methods and locations for treatment. Additional findings included suggestions from participants about ways to improve current treatment modalities and locations. Results suggested the need for provider education on age-specific issues faced by the older adult addict. </p>

<p> One important new global sociological phenomenon of the 21st century is the rise of elite single professional women worldwide, who have important roles as trailblazers. The Civil Rights and Women's Movements disrupted historical power systems and altered race relations, the workplace, women's lives, marriage patterns, and transformed retirement for this generation of retirees. Empirical research about always single, child-free professional women (ASCFPW) is scarce due to their minority status and the social bias toward married women; The lived experience of this minority population is often overshadowed in studies by the greater percentage of single-again women&mdash;widowed, divorced, or separated women with very different life experiences&mdash;with whom they are traditionally grouped in research. Simultaneously this population is increasing and can be role models for majority women who become single again as they age. The respectful acronym and neutral terminology of ASCFPW (always single, child-free, professional woman) is used; traditional research labels of "never married" and "childless" are negative, and ostracizing, therefore eschewed in this report. </p><p> This qualitative, multiple case investigation focuses on the lived retirement transition for seven ASCFPW in the first five years of retirement. How does the sense of self of the ASCFPW evolve from her career to a meaningful retirement lifestyle that integrates service, activism or creative praxis (activism in the arts, or a woman's unique creative strategy for service to her community) while embracing her new learning and evolving identity? How does the loss of professional identity at retirement impact the ASCFPW whose career was a significant part of her sense of self, salient roles, and life focus? </p><p> Their partial life history interviews reveal intelligent, engaged women who excelled in their careers then create a meaningful retirement lifestyle that includes community service, social activism, or creative praxis. Their narratives' data yield meaningful findings to add to existing older women's retirement literature on wholistic retirement planning, career patterns, professional identity versus work identity, the sense of self, new learning, and other surprises. Both transformative learning theory and adult development models are discussed as relevant. Recommendations for future research and retirement education curriculum are included. </p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to determine wellness specific requests of the Baby Boomer population in reference to choosing a skilled nursing facility for self and family members. Participants are any individual born from 1946 &Dot;C 1964 with access to the survey via internet or hard copy. A survey was emailed using various hosting sites, such as corporate emails, social media sites, and forwards to additional contacts, containing questions regarding physical, social, and intellectual wellness preferences in the nursing setting. Returned survey responses through PsychData totaled 462, totaling 436 useable surveys. All data analyses were conducted using SPSS version 21.0, using a significance level of p &le; .05: for all analyses. Results of the study show that the specific demographics of income and education may not significantly determine the extent to which a Baby Boomer will prefer certain dimensions of wellness in a skilled nursing facility. However, gender has a significant impact on both physical and social wellness preferences based on Mann Whitney analysis. Physical wellness questions regarding meal options, walking trails, supervised exercise programs, adapted exercise programs, and overall wellness were all significantly different at p &lt;.001. Mean scores indicate women place slightly greater importance on each measure of physical wellness. Social wellness and gender shows association when measuring (1) distance of facility from family members and potential visiting friends, (2) family proximity to facility (3) animal interaction, and (4) volunteer opportunities. While the differences between genders are statistically significant for four of the five social wellness questions, there is only a noticeable difference for animal interactions. Additionally, intellectual wellness is important to Baby Boomers, exhibited by selections of ongoing educational programs and accessibility to technology and internet communication via Wi-Fi availability. In conclusion, the majority of Baby Boomers surveyed seek physical and social wellness opportunities in long term care, specifically skilled nursing despite income and education levels.</p>

<p> Although there are ample studies confirming that memory self-efficacy (MSE) declines with age, less is known about what factors account for the variation in MSE among older adults. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between MSE, diagnostic and clinical characteristics, and subsequent episodic memory performance in older adults. A nonprobability sample of 200 cognitively normal and older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) participating in a longitudinal population-based study investigating the incidence, prevalence and risk factors for MCI completed a questionnaire about self-referent beliefs of MSE. Bandura's (1989) selfefficacy theory and the Integration Model (Whittemore, 2005) informed the descriptive study. Pearson product-moment correlations, a general linear model and a multiple linear regression analysis were conducted. The difference in MSE ratings between the cognitively normal group and the MCI group tested as a whole was significant when adjusting for age, gender and educational attainment (p &lt; .001; ES= 0.585). The overall regression model explained 17 % of the variance of MSE (p &lt; .001) and included age, gender, educational attainment, APOE 4 genotype, family history of dementia, cognitive diagnosis and depressive symptoms. After controlling for age and the other variables of interest, cognitive classification and depression were significant predictors of MSE. Higher MSE ratings were correlated with better episodic memory performance for both groups (r = .273, p &lt; .001). Memory training that capitalizes on the benefits accruing from higher MSE is needed for cognitively normal older adults and older adults with MCI.</p>

<p> Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explain the major barriers to medication access in rural seniors. How seniors access their prescription medications and make choices access helps to explain what seniors consider to be major barriers. This project has five goals: (1) describe what barriers rural seniors perceive that hinder access to their medicines and thus interfere with adherence to prescribed medication regimens; (2) understand what seniors perceive to be facilitators to accessing their prescriptions; (3) learn how or if social support networks play a role in helping rural seniors make decisions about how to use their resources to get their medications; (4) define the process that rural seniors use to move from potential access &mdash; the desire to get their medications, to revealed access &mdash; the actual ability to get their medications; and (5) describe what health care providers believe are the barriers that rural seniors face to getting their medicines. </p><p> Methods: I interviewed 19 low-income seniors in five towns in the San Luis Valley using semi-structured interviews, along with one pharmacist from each of seven pharmacies. A card study was conducted in nine clinics of the Valley Wide and Rio Grande systems. The interviews were coded using the grounded theory method. The card study survey was administered to primary care providers in eight clinics to gauge understanding of elderly patients' potential for barriers to access of medications. </p><p> Results: The primary finding is that poor structural health literacy (SHL) is the major barrier to access of medications, and to healthcare access generally. SHL is a factor in the more widely discussed barriers such as cost and transportation. </p><p> Discussion: SHL increases the chances that seniors will have access to healthcare by helping seniors learn how to take advantage of programs that enhance their ability to afford medications. Public Health agencies must work with community leaders to ensure that seniors are aware of their options for accessing medications, including financial and transportation options.</p>

<p> The impact of hypertension as human's age is debilitating and could affect any individual as they grow older. Hypertension is a silent killer that must be taken very seriously because it has claimed the life of 7.6 million people in 2005 worldwide. The purpose of this research study was to raise a global awareness and the characteristics of people who are more likely to have hypertension. Demographically, this research project focuses on those patients 60 years of age or older who are overweight, with an emphasis on the Black Community. The dataset used in this project was a cross-sectional, descriptive secondary data obtained from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS), part of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP). </p><p> The results of the study for the hypothesis suggests that African Americans 60 years and older have a higher rate of hypertension compared with other races 60 years and older in the United States. Furthermore, the study also validates that there is a relationship between higher body mass index and hypertension. The higher body mass index a person has the greater their chances of having hypertension.</p>

<p> This study seeks to determine the payer source for single, elderly women in nursing homes. By determining the payer source for single, elderly women, the next generation of women can prepare for high nursing home costs by saving earlier or investing in long-term care insurance. Studies have shown the primary payer sources for nursing home costs are Medicare and Medicaid. This study hypothesized single women, when compared to married women, would utilize Medicaid and welfare to pay for nursing home costs. Secondary data from the 2004 National Nursing Home Survey was extracted and analyzed for the aforementioned hypotheses. The analysis determined the primary payer sources for elderly women in nursing homes were self-pay and Medicaid. Marital status did not have an impact on the payer sources for single, elderly women in nursing homes when compared to married women.</p>

<p> This study was designed to explore how the experience of past parental alienation and current estrangement from adult child(ren) affected aging alienated parents particularly in the domains of depression and life satisfaction. This study also explored the link between past parental alienation and late-life estrangement from adult child(ren). The sample of 65 participants responded to an online survey after responding to a recruitment flyer posted on Craig's List. </p><p> The results showed mild to moderate levels of depression and moderate dissatisfaction with life among the study participants. Higher levels of parental alienation were significantly associated with higher levels of depression and greater dissatisfaction with life. Participants also overwhelmingly reported that past parental alienation had contributed to their current estrangement from their adult child(ren). </p><p> Further research is needed on the impact of parental alienation on the well-being of aging parents.</p>

<p> As the Baby Boomers age, the question of how to care for the burgeoning frail-elderly population grows more pressing. Sandwich-generation adult children are often called upon to make long-term care choices for their frail-elderly parents. This study used a Likert-type survey to determine if any of the six options for long-term care &ndash; no care, skilled nursing facilities, group homes, assisted living residences, home health care, and living at home with the sandwich-generation adult child &ndash; led to the highest degree of satisfaction for the sandwich-generation adult child who made the long-term care decision. The results indicated that having the frail-elderly parent live with the sandwichgeneration adult child brought the highest level of satisfaction.</p>

<p> Coping with chronic illness often takes place within the context of the marital relationship. Among married couples, collaborative efforts to cope with one partner's chronic health condition have been linked to a range of positive outcomes, including better disease management among patients and greater emotional and interpersonal adjustment among patients and their spouses. Theory suggests that dyadic forms of coping with disease, such as collaboration, may be more beneficial when they are consistent with, or match, partners' appraisal of who is responsible (couple vs. patient) for managing the patient's disease. Very few studies, however, have examined this possibility. The current study of couples coping with one partner's diabetes addressed this research gap by investigating whether disease-related collaboration was more strongly related to better adjustment among partners who view diabetes management as their shared responsibility compared to those who view diabetes management as the patient's responsibility alone. Three major areas of adjustment were examined: 1) patients' disease management; 2) patients' and spouses' emotional well-being; and 3) patients' and spouses' relationship quality. Participants were 126 married couples in which one partner (the patient) was at least 55 years old and had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes for at least one year and the other partner (the spouse) did not have diabetes. Patients and spouses separately completed a baseline interview and 24-day electronic daily diary. Predictor variables were derived from interviews; outcome variables were derived from daily diary records, and daily assessments of outcomes were aggregated across the entire diary period. Study hypotheses were tested using regression analysis and dyadic multilevel modeling. Results indicated that disease-related collaboration was linked to more positive psychosocial outcomes among patients in "shared responsibility" couples compared to patients "patient responsibility" couples. In contrast, collaboration had mixed associations with spouses' psychosocial outcomes, and none of these associations depended on partners' appraisal of responsibility for diabetes management. Overall, findings suggest that match between partners' collaborative efforts to cope with diabetes and their appraisal of disease management is important for the daily psychosocial adjustment of patients, but not for that of spouses. Implications for theory and intervention are discussed.</p>