Social Network Types, Health, and Health-Care Use Among South Korean Older Adults.

This study examines the associations among social network types, multiple health conditions, and various health-care use. Data came from the 2006 and 2008 wave of the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging. A two-step cluster analytical approach was used to identify social network types. Regression models determined associations between social network types, health changes, and health-care use, including checkups, outpatient service, traditional medicine use, and hospitalization. Four social network types (restricted, couple focused, friend, and diverse) were found. Compared with the restricted type, individuals in the couple-focused type were more likely to use traditional medicine and outpatient care; members in the diverse type were more likely to use traditional medicine. The interaction model revealed varying associations between health change and social network on health-care use. Findings reveal the culturally contextualized association among multiple health conditions and how social network type moderates the relationship with health-care use.

Promoting Retention: African American Older Adults in a Research Volunteer Registry.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to evaluate the capability of a research volunteer registry to retain community-dwelling African American older adults, and to explore demographic and health factors associated with retention. Method: A logistic regression model was used to determine the influence of demographics, health factors, and registry logic model activities on retention in a sample of 1,730 older African American adults. Results: Almost 80% of participants active in the volunteer research registry between January 2012 and June 2015 were retained. Employment, being referred to research studies, a higher number of medical conditions, and more follow-up contacts were associated with an increased likelihood of retention. Older age, more months in the registry, and more mobility problems decreased the likelihood of retention. Discussion: These results suggest the Michigan Center for Urban African American Aging Research logic model promotes retention through involving older African American adults in research through study referrals and intensive follow-up. The loss of participants due to age- and mobility-related issues indicate the registry may be losing its most vulnerable participants.

Support for and From Aging Mothers Whose Adult Daughters are Seriously Mentally Ill.

This article discusses, from the grandmother's perspective, the ways in which support is exchanged in families coping with serious mental illness. A strengths perspective was utilized to identify ways in which family members help each other. Employing a qualitative approach, this study focuses on interviews obtained from a sample of 22 aging mothers, aged 52-90, who are in contact with their daughters who have a mental illness. Grandmothers provided several kinds of support to their mentally ill adult daughters and to their grandchildren, who also supported the aging mother in numerous ways. As social workers seek to assist individuals with mental illness, it is important to assess the existing strengths of their intergenerational family context.

Likelihood of African American Primary Caregivers and Care Recipients Receiving Assistance From Secondary Caregivers: A Rural-Urban Comparison.

We examine rural-urban differences in reliance on secondary caregivers for African American female primary caregivers (250 rural, 242 urban) and their care recipients. Logistic regression was used to identify caregiver and care recipient characteristics significantly associated with the likelihood of having a secondary caregiver within rural and urban samples. Post hoc Wald chi-square tests were used to identify significant between-sample differences in regression coefficients. Secondary caregivers were more common in urban than rural contexts. Having a secondary caregiver was more strongly related to primary caregivers' poorer physical health and nonresidence with care recipients in rural than urban contexts. Findings suggest that policy initiatives, such as the National Family Caregivers Support Act and the cash and counseling model, may benefit rural and urban residents, particularly rural residents as the majority of them lacked secondary caregiver assistance.

Building a registry of research volunteers among older urban African Americans: recruitment processes and outcomes from a community-based partnership.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: An emerging strategy for increasing public participation in health research is volunteer registries. Using a community-based participatory research framework, we describe recruitment processes and outcomes in building a research volunteer registry of older urban African Americans. The specific research question examined retrospectively was: How does a community outreach partnership between older residents and academic researchers of the Healthier Black Elders Center facilitate recruitment of older urban African Americans for a research volunteer registry? DESIGN AND METHODS: We adapted program evaluation methods, specifically, the logic model, for clarifying how community outreach health education activities supported development of a research volunteer registry of older urban African Americans. RESULTS: Paralleling the 7 years in which an annual health reception was held, enrollees in a research volunteer registry increased from 102 to 1,273 enrollees. IMPLICATIONS: Targeted outreach to underrepresented groups to build a registry of volunteers for health research may be a promising strategy for addressing recruitment disparities in African Americans' research participation.

Advancing the science of recruitment and retention of ethnically diverse populations.

We highlight several critical challenges that must be addressed to accelerate the advancement of the science on recruitment and retention of ethnically diverse older adults into health research. These include the relative lack of attention by researchers to methodological issues related to recruitment and retention of ethnically diverse populations and the inadequacy of funding to advance systematically this field. We describe strategies used by the Resource Centers on Minority Aging Research and other National Institute of Aging-funded programs to advance the science of recruitment of ethnically diverse older adults. Finally, we propose a set of broad recommendations designed to generate a body of evidence on successful methods of recruitment and retention of ethnically diverse populations in health research. To eliminate health disparities and better understand aging processes in ethnically diverse populations, much more research is needed on effective strategies for increasing minority enrollment in health research. Comparative effectiveness research on more intensive recruitment and retention methods, which are often needed for including diverse populations, will require dedicated funding and concerted efforts by investigators.

The Relationship of Social Support to African American Caregivers' Help-Seeking for Emotional Problems.

This study analyzes whether social support serves as a link to or substitute for formal services among African American female caregivers seeking help with emotional problems. It also analyzes other determinants of help-seeking. It relies on data from the Black Rural and Urban Caregivers Mental Health and Functioning Study and is guided by a modified version of the behavioral model of health services use. Using hierarchical binary logistic regression, analyses reveal that only age, stress, and support from fellow church members are statistically significantly associated with the likelihood of help-seeking. These results support the linking hypothesis, suggesting that the social support received by African American women caregivers in the context of their religious organizations helps to link them to services.

Development of community-based partnerships in minority aging research.

The Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research (RCMAR) initiative was established in 1997 and currently includes six centers across the United States. The model of community engagement developed by all the RCMARs is Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR). This supplement explores the diverse methods of partnership building in each RCMAR and highlights some of the successes and challenges encountered in CBPR. Two articles focus on how the CBPR infrastructure facilitates the conduct of research in minority communities. Two other manuscripts discuss the unique experiences at those RCMARs in the CBPR partnership development process. The final paper describes the mentoring processes used at each of the RCMARs for both junior academic investigators and community members. We conclude that CBPR is a difficult and long-term process requiring substantial buy-in and commitments from both the academic and community partners in a continuous and evolving collaborative partnership.

Involving rural, older African Americans and their female informal caregivers in research.

OBJECTIVE: This article presents the methodology, procedures, and results for involving rural, older African Americans and recruiting their female informal caregivers for a well-being and service use study. METHODS: Using a list of 1,994 Medicare enrollees, this study adapted a reversed screening telephone methodology tested on urban African American elders and their caregivers. It used trained screeners, local African American female interviewers, and a mixed-mode procedure (i.e., telephone and canvassing) to screen elders and recruit caregivers. RESULTS: Adequate information for 1,547 listings allowed screeners to contact qualified elders meeting the study criteria. Using chi-square analysis, significant differences were found between telephone and canvassing screening methods on nonreferral cases and referral cases. Elders or a proxy referred 286 caregivers. Interviewers obtained 265 of 300 proposed caregiver interviews. DISCUSSION: Knowledge about the involvement of rural, older African Americans and recruitment of their female informal caregivers in research is essential to understanding recruitment successes and pitfalls in ethnic minority research.

Empowering African American women informal caregivers: a literature synthesis and practice strategies.

Through a synthesis of literature on caregiving, empowerment, social inequalities, and racial disparities in health and income, the authors built an argument for African American women caregivers' vulnerability to powerlessness and the applicability of an empowerment approach to social work practice with these caregivers. The article discusses two realities of African American women caregivers' experiences (strong coping and vulnerability) and two relevant theoretical frameworks (stress and coping and empowerment frameworks) for framing these experiences. Drawing on empowerment and other relevant literature, the authors recommend three practice strategies with these caregivers.

Prostate cancer and psychosocial concerns in African American men: literature synthesis and recommendations.

African American men have the highest prostate cancer rates in the world, and more die from the disease than men from other racial or ethnic groups. Because the social work literature has little information on prostate cancer in African American men, the authors have synthesized the literature on prostate cancer and psychosocial concerns in African American men. They used the Health Belief Model as a framework to help explain, understand, and predict African American men's preventive health-related behaviors. The authors make recommendations for social work practice and research.

The influence of caregiving stressors, social support, and caregiving appraisal on marital functioning among African American wife caregivers.

Using a stress and coping framework, we examined the influence of caregiving stressors, social support, and caregiving appraisal on the marital functioning of 100 African American wife caregivers. Results of separate multivariate analyses revealed received church support, caregiving burden, and caregiving satisfaction significantly predicted wives' marital functioning, when caregivers' background characteristics (age and education), length of caregiving, whether first marriage, and urban versus rural location were controlled. Receiving church support was associated with increased marital functioning. Lower levels of caregiving burden were associated with increased marital functioning. Higher levels of caregiving satisfaction were associated with increased marital functioning. Findings illuminate wives' caregiving and marital experiences, and have implications for family therapy and future research.