 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Baseema Banoo, MS, Ithaca Breast Cancer Alliance, 100 W. Seneca Street, Ithaca, NY 14850, Shelly Campo, PhD, Community and Behavioral Health, University of Iowa, 200 Hawkins Drive, E237 GH, Iowa City, IA 52244, 319-384-5393, shelly-campo@uiowa.edu, Elaine Wethington, PhD, Human Development, Cornell University, MVR Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853, and Alice Boyce, MA, Bronfenbrenner Life Course Ctr, Cornell University, BLCC MVR Building, Ithaca, NY 14853.
The study examines whether factors such as perceived health, social participation and informal social support influence service use behavior of the elderly. The sample consists of 628 residents, aged 51-101, residing in central New York, living either independently or in one of 11 different senior housing facilities. Participants were surveyed by the Pathways to Life Quality project team, a collaborative research effort conducted by the Gerontology Institute at Ithaca College and the Bronfenbrenner Life Course Center at Cornell University (Krout & Wethington, Principal Investigators). Single, older women who suffer from a greater number of ADL limitations used a greater number of services. An unmet need was help in performing mundane household chores. Activity limitations also constrained the use of discretionary services such as information and referral and transportation services. Community respondents who participated in social clubs and other organizations also showed greater use of formal services. Analyses of informal social support indicate that as elderly individuals progressed into their later years, they increased their communication with informal network members. The presence of children decreased and presence of other non-familial contacts increased. Among respondents who reported poorer health, a higher use of informal support predicted a higher use of formal service, implying that informal network members may be serving as a link between frail respondents and formal services. Strength of ties with informal network members, however, failed to predict formal service use overall. Implications for the marketing and delivery of health care services by health service organizations will be addressed.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Service Delivery, Elderly
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.