Case Studies/Qualitative Research

20 publications found.

"Place" in the small stories of African American elders: A narrative case study

08/31/2019

Although there is a rich literature on place and home within gerontology, few studies have considered how place acts as identity markers for older African Americans. Since narratives and stories represent ways of expressing self and identity through ordered talk, they offer an interesting way to consider how people age biographically such as through links between place and self. This study analyzed small stories (i.e., stories that can appear as snippets of talk immersed within a larger...

  • Case Studies/ Qualitative Research

"A bone of contention...": Perceived barriers and situational dependencies to food preferences of nursing home residents

05/27/2019

This study investigated barriers to fulfilling food preferences from nursing home (NH) residents’ perspectives, and the reasons preferences changed (situational dependencies).

  • Case Studies/ Qualitative Research
  • Long-Term Care Facilities
  • Long-Term Care - Other

E-hail (rideshare) knowledge, use, reliance, and future expectations among older adults

05/15/2018

The goals of this study were to explore e-hail (e.g., Uber/Lyft) knowledge, use, reliance, and future expectations among older adults. Specifically, to identify factors that were related to e-hail, and how older adults view this mode as a potential future transportation option.

  • Aging and Developmental Disabilities
  • Case Studies/ Qualitative Research
  • Transportation

The effects of demographics, functioning, and perceptions on the relationship between self-reported and objective measures of driving exposure and patterns among older adults

04/15/2018

This exploratory study examined: how strongly subjectively reported driving avoidance behaviors (commonly referred to as self-regulation) and exposure were related to their objectively measured counterparts and whether it depended on the specific behavior; the extent to which gender and age play a role in the association between subjectively reported driving avoidance behaviors and exposure and their objectively measured counterparts; and the extent to which demographics, health and functioning,...

  • Aging and Developmental Disabilities
  • Case Studies/ Qualitative Research
  • Transportation

The Caregiver Toolbox: Evaluation of a Workshop for Informal Caregivers

12/15/2016

This report is an evaluation of a face-to-face group workshop designed for informal caregivers of older adults provided by the Central Ohio Area Agency on Aging.

  • Case Studies/ Qualitative Research
  • Families/Caregiving

Neighborhood Assistants Pilot: A Program Evaluation of Person-Centered Staffing

07/28/2015

The purpose of this study was to pilot test and evaluate an innovative staffing approach called the Neighborhood Assistant (NA) at the Francis E. Parker Memorial Home.  The goal of the program was to support the certified nursing assistants by empowering them to partner with the NA to regain person-centered moments with residents.  To evaluate the pilot testing of this program, a pre- and post-implementation evaluation was conducted that included employee observations, focus groups,...

  • Case Studies/ Qualitative Research
  • Long-Term Care Decision Making
  • Long-Term Care Facilities
  • Long-Term Care Policy and Financing
  • Workforce Issues

Chronic illness and generativity in late life: A case study

07/25/2015

This article presents a narrative-based case study about chronic illness and genetic uncertainty and their relationship to generativity throughout the life course. Our focus is a woman who experienced vision loss early in life and interpreted its impact on her generativity through present-day biographical rescripting. This article contributes an understanding of childlessness as observed through the lenses of chronic illness, autonomy, and generativity. We conclude that a history of chronic...

  • Case Studies/ Qualitative Research
  • Chronic Illness/ Disability

Initial exploration of newly implemented public health policy using Geographic Information Systems: the case of a U.S. Silver Alert program

12/01/2014

Public health policies are designed for specific subsets of the population. We assert that utilization patterns can be effectively assessed using geographic information systems (GIS). This paper uses the Silver Alert program, a recently implemented public health policy, as a case for how and why GIS can be used to examine utilization patterns. Design. The paper uses visualized data and spatial statistics to assess utilization patterns and mission adherence. Results show disproportionate...

  • Case Studies/ Qualitative Research
  • Health/Physical Activity
  • Legal/ Advocacy

Generativity in elderly Oblate Sisters of Providence

10/28/2014

This paper explored how generativity and well-being merged in a group of childless older women: African and Hispanic Roman Catholic Religious Sisters, linking two minority identity characteristics. Findings highlight that research gains from a phenomenological understanding of how religious faith promotes generative cognitions and emotions. Findings also reveal that the experiences of a subculture in society—African-American elderly women religious—add to theories and definitions of...

  • Case Studies/ Qualitative Research
  • Demographics

Successful aging, Gerontological theory, and neoliberalism: A qualitative critique

08/26/2014

This article is a critique of the successful aging (SA) paradigm as described in the Rowe and Kahn book, Successful Aging (1998). The article shows how the implicit social theory developed in the book, in a manner similar to neoliberalism, elevates the individual as the main source of any changes that must accompany the SA paradigm and the focus on SA as individual action does not provide for those older adults who do not or will not age “successfully.” This, we conclude, implicitly sets up...

  • Case Studies/ Qualitative Research
  • Research Methods

Application of the model of allostasis to older women’s relocation to senior housing

04/16/2014

Adjustment to senior housing entails significant lifestyle changes and is a stressful process. The adaptation process is dynamic and has yet to be studied using the conceptual model of allostasis. This article presents exemplars of women whose profiles represent three allostatic states: successful adaptation (homeostasis), ongoing adaptation (allostasis), and maladaptation (allostatic load). Coping abilities, perceptions of stressors, and cortisol measures provide a detailed picture of the...

  • Care Management
  • Case Studies/ Qualitative Research

Extending the framework of generativity through research: A qualitative Study

04/16/2014

This study defines 4 foci of generativity (people, groups, things, and activities) and 4 spheres of generativity (historical, familial, individual, and relational) based in American culture and with which older informants could easily identify. The approach outlined here also discusses a form of generativity oriented to the past in which relationships with persons in senior generations form a kind of generative action since they are involved in caring for the origins of the self and hence of...

  • Case Studies/ Qualitative Research
  • Research Methods

Using Art to Overcome Cognitive Barriers

01/04/2014

OMA operates programs at eight other locations in southwestern Ohio, including long-term-care communities and adult-day centers serving about 125 elders and 200 volunteers a year in small-group sessions that take place weekly during the academic year. Because the arts can tap into parts of the brain that tend to be less affected by dementia, there has been a growing interest in recent years in exploring the ways the arts can be used to help reach and engage people with cognitive loss. A number...

  • Arts and Aging
  • Case Studies/ Qualitative Research

The Role of Relevancy and Social Suffering in “Generativity” Among Older Post-Soviet Women Immigrants

11/01/2013

This paper examines generativity, social suffering, and culture change in a sample of 16 women aged 65 years or older who emigrated from the former Soviet Union. Key concerns with generativity are identity, which can be strongly rooted in one’s original cultural formation, and a stable life course, which is what ideally enables generative impulses to be cultivated in later life. To better understand how early social suffering may affect later life generativity, we conducted two 90-min...

  • Case Studies/ Qualitative Research

Introductive Case Study: “My Health is Excellent but I’m Dying”

09/01/2013

The article presents an introductive case study discussing an 89-year old woman's experience with aging, particularly commenting on her individual perceptions of the meaning of successful aging. She addresses her serious health concerns, as well as notes the distinction between psychological health and physical health. Other topics explored include the impact of medical conditions on the woman's ability to live normally, her focus on being alive and having something to live for, and the...

  • Aging and Developmental Disabilities
  • Case Studies/ Qualitative Research
  • Religion/Spirituality

Generative acts of people with dementia in a long-term care setting

08/14/2013

Although generativity is used as a central cultural construct within life course theory to illustrate how older persons create interpersonal ties, it is also tied to key concepts in social exchange theory since generative acts can provide a way for achieving more equity in intergenerational power relationships. Without opportunities for older adults to invest themselves in younger generations, they may no longer feel needed within their family or community. In this article, we discuss the...

  • Case Studies/ Qualitative Research
  • Chronic Illness/ Disability
  • Families/Caregiving

Analyzing state-based Silver Alert programs: the case of North Carolina

04/16/2013

Recent discussions about securing the autonomy and safety of older people in a cost-effective way have culminated in the establishment of "Silver Alert" media-alert policies in more than half of US states over the past 5 years. Despite a policy focus on older adults and individuals with cognitive impairment, activation of Silver Alerts in a county was not related to the proportion of the population 65 years of age or older or to the prevalence of poor mental health in the county. Additionally,...

  • Case Studies/ Qualitative Research
  • Mental Health

Application of the model of allostasis to older women's relocation to senior housing

01/30/2013

Adjustment to senior housing entails significant lifestyle changes and is a stressful process. The adaptation process is dynamic and has yet to be studied using the conceptual model of allostasis. This article presents exemplars of women whose profiles represent three allostatic states: successful adaptation (homeostasis), ongoing adaptation (allostasis), and maladaptation (allostatic load).Coping abilities, perceptions of stressors, and cortisol measures provide a detailed picture of the...

  • Case Studies/ Qualitative Research
  • Psychology of Aging

Enriching Now with Then: Connecting Nursing Home Residents and Nursing Home Staff Through Oral History

01/26/2010

This study was funded in part by the Ohio Long-Term Care Research Project through the support of the Ohio Board of Regents. We are grateful to AARP Ohio for their contribution toward report production.Full Report (PDF 9MB)Research Brief (PDF 527.8KB)

  • Case Studies/ Qualitative Research
  • Long-Term Care Facilities

Images of Ohio Centenarians: An Exploratory Study

08/10/2008

This study was funded in part by the Ohio Long-Term Care Research Project through the support of the Ohio Board of Regents. We are grateful to AARP Ohio for their contribution toward report production.Full Report (PDF 2.5MB)Research Brief (PDF 261KB)

  • Case Studies/ Qualitative Research