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Biomedical subjects

B J Gale

Publications and source records attributed to B J Gale.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

Functional health status of older women.

By the year 2000 in the United States, there will be 32 million adults age 65 or over, representing 12% of the population, with the majority being women. Older women are experiencing greater longevity but worse overall health than men. The assessment of functional health status in older women is often neglected yet is the major contributor to independent living. Functional health status includes the dimensions of physical health, independent health, and psychosocial health. Studies of two different groups of non-institutionalized older women who reside in the same Southwestern state are discussed in relation to national study samples and implications for nurse practitioners.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1993

Psychosocial health needs of older women: urban versus rural comparisons.

The population of older women who live alone is rapidly expanding. For a variety of reasons, mental health needs often are not treated. A stress-coping framework guided this study of psychosocial health needs in both urban and rural women. Urban women reported higher levels of stress and greater use of community services. Forty-two percent of the total group of women reported that they had either used psychotropic drugs or felt a need for them and, yet only 2% had ever used outpatient mental health services. Implications for nurses are discussed.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

Advocacy for elderly autonomy: a challenge for community health nurses.

Community health nursing practice has always been directed by a genuine concern for other persons. Flaherty (1980) wrote that the profession now, perhaps more than ever before, requires that nurses go beyond direct care and be involved with the nature and shape of the health-care system, the practice of all team members, and "the changing roles of consumers in the maintenance of their own health" (p.8). The ethics of care in a society that no longer values old age is a challenge that must be met head on by CHNs.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Faculty practice as partnership with a community coalition.

Faculty practice as partnership with a community coalition can be a dynamic strategy for retooling the future of nursing. The Escalante ElderCARE Coalition was formed in 1991, with the Community Health Division of the Arizona State College of Nursing taking a leadership role. Since that time, more than 50 aging network and community agencies have become involved. More than $300,000 in grant funding has been awarded for Healthy WAY services with low-income seniors as health care and program partners. The conceptual model includes health-promotion services, participation of community elders in program planning and evaluation, and education of health professionals. Participation theory is the basis for the conceptual model. A large number of undergraduate and graduate nursing students have been involved in the nontraditional delivery of services provided by the coalition. The Short Form 36 (SF-36) and the Lifestyle Directions Questionnaire are the health status outcome measures, and elder satisfaction, coalition effectiveness, and cost-savings measures are the process indicators. Elders reported healthier scores in six of the eight SF-36 dimensions, including general health, than the older US general population, but they also report that their amount of physical exercise and fiber intake is less than adequate. Overall, the elders express great satisfaction with the Healthy WAY programs but do not perceive as much ownership as do the coalition's agency professionals. Coalitions are emerging as a force for change and a public health strategy, and faculty members are encouraged to take seriously the opportunities afforded by them for proactive, advanced practice roles.

Arizona↗
PubMedDate not supplied

How race affects health services use by older women.

In this study, we examined the relationships among functional health and its correlates in a sample of 101 low-income, older African American (n = 32), White (n = 37), and Hispanic (n = 32) women residing in the southwestern United States. Statistically significant associations were found among age, education, and income and the functional health variables of physical health, independent health, and psychosocial health. Hispanic women reported higher levels of physical health than White. African American women reported higher levels of both independent and psychosocial health than White women. Through regression analysis, physical health was found to be a significant predictor of the need for and use of health services. Little emphasis has been placed on the functional health needs of older women and race in policy and practice.

Black or African American↗