CORRELATES OF HEALTH BEHAVIORS OF COMMUNITY LIVING OLDER ADULTS (ELDERLY).
Contributors: University of Virginia.
Published: 1997
Number of pages: 212
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Gerontology.; Psychology, Behavioral.
Description: The correlates of health behaviors for community living older adults were of interest. Literature reflects that older adults are understudied, and correlates to and complexity of health behaviors for older adults are unclear. The Interaction Model of Client Health Behavior (Cox, 1982) framed this investigation. The independent variables and measures were demographics (age, gender, education, race, marital statue, children and siblings), income, spirituality (Spiritual Well-being Scale), functional status (ADL and IADL scales), motivation (Health Self-Determinism Index), health conceptions (Laffrey Health Conception Scale), and loneliness (Abbreviated Loneliness Scale). The dependent variable was health behavior (Schwirian Senior's Lifestyle Inventory-SLI).

Regression models were developed with the older adult male veteran sample (n = 184) using the total and subscale scores of the SLI (Schwirian, 1992): nutrition, active composure, health maintenance, and safety. Internal consistency was a problem with the Spiritual Well-being and Laffrey Health Conception Scales.

Twenty-two percent of the variance in nutrition behaviors was explained by marital status, income, IADL, and role performance/functional health conception. Forty-six percent of the variance in active composure behaviors was explained by race, adaptive health conception, children, income, religious well-being, IADL, and loneliness. Twenty-nine percent of the variance in health maintenance was explained by marital status, income, IADL, adaptive health and role performance/functional health conceptions. Fourteen percent of the variance in safety behaviors was explained by age, marital status, children, religious well-being, and IADL. Forty-three percent of the variance in overall health behavior was explained by race, marital, children, income, role performance/functiona1 health conception, adaptive health conception, religious well-being, and IADL. Although motivation ie an important element in the Interaction Model, it did not reach statistical significance ($\alpha$ = 0.1).

This research supports the multidimensionality of health behavior. This study advances nursing practice by identifying correlates to health behaviors which will assist nurses in the identification of risk status and development of self-care strategies. Specifically, this research advances the understanding of the correlates of health behaviors with a southwestern Virginia, community-living, older adult, male, veteran population.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 57-10, Section: B, page: 6175.

Thesis (PH.D.)--UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA, 1997.

School code: 0246.