Biomedical subjects

Benjamin A Shaw

Publications and source records attributed to Benjamin A Shaw.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Assessing sources of support for diabetes self-care in urban and rural underserved communities.

The ability of adults with diabetes to manage their illness properly and prevent complications is, in part, a function of support provided by the people and institutions surrounding them. Using data from over 200 adults with diabetes in two medically underserved communities--one urban and one rural--this study examines the self-care specific support provided by four key sources: family and friends, community organizations, one's neighbors and neighborhood, and resources in the wider community. More specifically, this study aims to assess the support needs of adults with diabetes in these communities by estimating their rates of various self-care behaviors, the amount of support provided by key sources, and the associations between support from these sources and adherence to recommended diabetes self-care behaviors. Descriptive findings indicate that close to 40% of the sample failed to report at least moderate levels of adherence, and that physical activity in the rural community, and smoking in the urban community represent particular problem areas. Individuals from the urban sub-sample reported receiving more support from all of the sources assessed. Logistic regression models indicated that one's neighbors and neighborhood resources appear to have a broad influence on adherence to diabetes self-care behaviors. Support from family and friends, as well as from community organizations, also seems to be important. These results have implications for the design of interventions aimed at bolstering support for diabetes self-care, and point to the need for an enhanced focus on strengthening the social environmental resources of adults with diabetes.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Lack of emotional support from parents early in life and alcohol abuse later in life.

The purpose of this study is to examine the association between lacking emotional support from parents early in life and adult alcohol abuse. A series of logistic regression models were run with data collected from a nationally representative sample of over 2500 adults ages 25-74. The findings reveal a linear relationship between level of deficiency in early maternal support and odds of alcohol abuse during adulthood, with even moderate deficiencies being associated with elevated risk. Further examination suggests that this association persists throughout adulthood. This association does not appear to be explained by the early initiation of alcohol use, but poor psychological well-being during adulthood does account for a large portion of this association. These findings expand our understanding of the risks associated with poor parental support during childhood, and underscore the importance of adopting a life course perspective in studying the social determinants of alcohol problems among adults.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

How does self-assessed health change with age? A study of older adults in Japan.

OBJECTIVE: This research examines how the trajectories of self-rated health evolve among elderly Japanese individuals and how socioeconomic status (SES), social relations, and baseline health differentiate these trajectories. METHODS: Data came from a five-wave panel study of a national sample of 2,200 Japanese old adults between 1987 and 1999. Hierarchical linear models and cluster analysis were employed to depict major patterns of temporal changes in self-rated health. RESULT: Overall perceived health becomes worse, but only slightly, between ages 60 and 85, whereas it appears to improve a little bit after age 85. Underlying the observed age norm are four subtrajectories including constant good health, early onset of perceived health decline, late onset of perceived health decline, and a course of recovery from poor self-assessed health. DISCUSSION: Diverse subjective health trajectories exist in old age, extending well into the 90s. Prior observations of the effects of SES, social relations, and baseline health on health states and transitions can now be extended to trajectories of subjective health. Our analysis of Japanese data provides important benchmarks for comparisons with observations made in other developed nations.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2004

Emotional support from parents early in life, aging, and health.

The purpose of this study is to estimate the relationship between receiving emotional support from parents early in life and an individual's health in adulthood. Analysis of data from a nationally representative sample of adults ages 25-74 years suggests that a lack of parental support during childhood is associated with increased levels of depressive symptoms and chronic conditions in adulthood. These associations between early parental support and adult health persist with increasing age throughout adulthood. Personal control, self-esteem, and social relationships during adulthood account for a large portion of these long-term associations. These findings underscore the importance of adopting a life course perspective in studying the social determinants of health among adults.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

A descriptive epidemiology of lifetime trauma and the physical health status of older adults.

Three issues are evaluated in this study. The 1st involves examining the relationship between exposure to trauma over the life course and physical health status in old age. The 2nd has to do with seeing whether the relationship between trauma and health varies across 3 cohorts of older adults: the young-old (ages 65-74), the old-old (ages 75-84), and the oldest old (age 85 and over). The 3rd issue involves seeing whether the age at which a trauma was encountered is related to health in late life. Data from a nationwide survey of older people (N=1,518) reveal that trauma is associated with worse health. Moreover, the young-old appear to be at greatest risk. Finally, data suggest that trauma arising between the ages of 18 and 30 years, as well as ages 31 to 64 years, has the strongest relationship with current health.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Associations between anticipated support, physical functioning, and education level among a nationally representative sample of older adults.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which levels of anticipated support reported by older adults are associated with functional disability. In addition, level of education is tested as a modifier of this relationship. METHOD: Survey data were collected from a nationwide sample of 1,103 adults aged 60 to 95. Ordinary least squares regression analysis was used to test a range of model specifications involving anticipated support and functional disability. RESULTS: Levels of anticipated support are inversely associated with functional disability. Risk for functional disability is confined mostly to those reporting lower than average levels of anticipated support. This association is particularly strong with respect to instrumental support and among those older adults with low levels of education. DISCUSSION: These findings expand our understanding of the benefits of social relationships by suggesting that the perception of access to social support may enhance physical functioning in older age.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2003

Changes in functional status among older adults in Japan: successful and usual aging.

This research aimed to chart the trajectories of functional status in old age in Japan and to assess how self-rated health and cognitive functioning differentiate these trajectories and account for interpersonal differences. Data came from a 5-wave panel study of a national sample of 2,200 Japanese older adults between 1987 and 1999. The sample as a whole showed an accelerated increase in functional limitations with age. approximated by a quadratic function. More important, 3 major trajectories of functional change were identified: (a) minimal functional decrement, (b) early onset of functional impairment. and (c) late onset of functional impairment. These findings may serve as useful benchmarks for observations derived from other developed nations.

Aged↗

PubMed2003

Social structural influences on emotional support from parents early in life and adult health status.

The authors' purpose in this study was to identify social structural predictors of receiving emotional support from parents early in life and structural factors responsible for variations in the associations between early parental support and adult health status. Data from a US representative sample of 2,786 adults aged 25-74 years suggest that men, non-Whites, and individuals from socioeconomically advantaged families report having received higher levels of early parental support. Furthermore, these analyses suggest that although adult health status is predicted by early parental support in general, health status among adults is particularly sensitive to levels of support received from a same-sex parent during childhood. These findings emphasize the pervasive influence of gender in American society and add focus to researchers' understanding of the long-term health effects of early parental support.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Religion, death of a loved one, and hypertension among older adults in Japan.

OBJECTIVE: To see whether three dimensions of religion (private religious practices, religious coping, and belief in the afterlife) buffer the effect of the death of a significant other on change in self-reported hypertension over time. METHODS: Interviews were conducted with a nationally representative sample of people aged 60 and older in Japan at two points in time, 1996 and 1999. Complete data were available on 1,723 older Japanese. Respondents were asked a series of questions about their religious beliefs and practices, whether a family member or close friend had died in the past year, and whether they had hypertension. RESULTS: The data suggest that older adults in Japan who experienced the death of a loved one but who believed in a good afterlife were less likely to report they had hypertension at the follow-up interview than elderly people in Japan who lost a close other but did not believe in a good afterlife. DISCUSSION: The results suggest how one overlooked dimension of religion (i.e., religious beliefs) may bolster the health of older people in the face of adversity.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2002

Exposure to physical violence during childhood, aging, and health.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to estimate the relationship between exposure to physical violence administered by one's parents and adult health. In the process, the authors also examine factors that mediate and moderate this association. METHODS: Hypothesized relationships were tested using ordinary least squares regression analyses with data collected from a nationwide sample of adults aged 25 to 74 in 1995. RESULTS: The data suggest that exposure to childhood physical violence is associated with diminished mental and physical health in adulthood. These associations do not vary by respondent's age. Furthermore, the long-term effects of childhood physical violence are largely mediated by psychosocial resources. DISCUSSION: These results support the idea that the effects of childhood trauma may persist into later life. Therefore, in studying the antecedents of current health problems among adults, it may be necessary to consider the influence of events that have occurred throughout the entire life course.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

The impact of salient role stress on trajectories of health in late life among survivors of a seven-year panel study: analyses of individual growth curves.

The purpose this study is twofold: 1) to model changes in health over time among older adults; and 2) to assess the degree to which stress arising in salient social roles accounts for individual variation in these changes. Individual growth curve analyses using Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) software were employed with longitudinal data collected from a nationwide sample of 465 older adults between 1992-1999. The data suggest that, throughout the course of the study, the sample as a whole experienced linear deterioration in self-rated health. After accounting for the effects of non-salient role stress and demographic characteristics, variance in health changes was not accounted for significantly by salient role stress in an additive model. However, the inclusion of a multiplicative term showed that as respondent age increased, the association between salient role stress and adverse changes in health strengthened significantly. These results support the idea that the oldest-old may be particularly vulnerable to the effects of stress. This finding has important implications for targeting interventions and should stimulate further study regarding how and why responses to stress change progressively with age.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2002

Welfare participation and social support in late life.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among participation in welfare programs, gender, and change in social support in adults aged 65 and older. It was hypothesized that older men receiving public assistance would encounter more social network problems than older women on welfare. The findings reveal that during the 7-year study older men in receipt of welfare benefits, compared with older women on welfare, received less social support from others, were more dissatisfied with the assistance they got, and encountered more negative interaction from informal social network members (i.e., family and friends). The results suggest that those who administer welfare programs, as well as public policymakers, should consider developing interventions that address the wider psychosocial problems associated with receiving public assistance.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The development of an Alzheimer's disease channel for the Michigan Interactive Health Kiosk Project.

The overall objective of this article is to describe the development and implementation of an Alzheimer's disease (AD) module for the Michigan Interactive Health Kiosk Project. This project provides access to health information via 100 kiosks located in public places throughout the state (e.g., churches, senior centers, schools, shopping malls, grocery stores, hospitals) using interactive multimedia software. Because the kiosk screen was designed to resemble a television set, program modules are referred to as "channels." The AD channel is designed to increase knowledge and awareness of the disease among the general public. After an overview of the overall project, the steps involved in developing the AD channel and strategies designed to monitor its use are described, including touch-screen usage data and an on-line user survey. Finally, marketing and promotion of the channel and the implications of this initiative for disseminating information about AD are discussed.

Aged↗