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Women in later life: exploring race and ethnicity
- Authors:
- MAYNARD Mary, et al
- Publisher:
- Open University Press
- Publication year:
- 2008
- Pagination:
- 202p., bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- Maidenhead
Britain, along with other Western and industrialized countries, has an ageing population. We already live in one of the demographically oldest societies to have ever existed and the population is going to get older. By 2020 it is estimated that one third of the population will be aged over 50. Furthermore, older women outnumber older men, since men tend to die at a younger age than women. In the academic mainstream relatively little is known about older women from minority ethnic communities. This book is based on interviews and focus groups with women of different backgrounds and ethnicities whose lives illustrate the strength of character and optimism that have often enabled them to live through hard times but who, in general, view later life positively.
- article
Inequalities in healthcare disruptions during the Covid-19 pandemic: evidence from 12 UK population-based longitudinal studies
- Authors:
- MADDOCK Jane, et al
- Publisher:
- medRxiv
- Publication year:
- 2021
- Pagination:
- 25
Background: Health systems worldwide have faced major disruptions due to COVID-19 which could exacerbate health inequalities. The UK National Health Service (NHS) provides free healthcare and prioritises equity of delivery, but the pandemic may be hindering the achievement of these goals. We investigated associations between multiple social characteristics (sex, age, occupational social class, education and ethnicity) and self-reported healthcare disruptions in over 65,000 participants across twelve UK longitudinal studies. Methods: Participants reported disruptions from March 2020 up to late January 2021. Associations between social characteristics and three types of self-reported healthcare disruption (medication access, procedures, appointments) and a composite of any of these were assessed in logistic regression models, adjusting for age, sex and ethnicity where relevant. Random-effects meta-analysis was conducted to obtain pooled estimates. Results: Prevalence of disruption varied across studies; between 6.4% (TwinsUK) and 31.8 % (Understanding Society) of study participants reported any disruption. Females (Odd Ratio (OR): 1.27 [95%CI: 1.15,1.40]; I2=53%), older persons (e.g. OR: 1.39 [1.13,1.72]; I2=77% for 65-75y vs 45-54y), and Ethnic minorities (excluding White minorities) (OR: 1.19 [1.05,1.35]; I2=0% vs White) were more likely to report healthcare disruptions. Those in a more disadvantaged social class (e.g. OR: 1.17 [1.08, 1.27]; I2=0% for manual/routine vs managerial/professional) were also more likely to report healthcare disruptions, but no clear differences were observed by education levels. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to unequal healthcare disruptions, which, if unaddressed, could contribute to the maintenance or widening of existing health inequalities. (Edited publisher abstract)
Covid-19: understanding inequalities in mental health during the pandemic
- Authors:
- ALLWOOD Louis, BELL Andy
- Publisher:
- Centre for Mental Health
- Publication year:
- 2020
- Pagination:
- 18
- Place of publication:
- London
This briefing paper explores the mental health inequalities that are associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK. It finds that the virus and the lockdown are putting greater pressure on groups and communities whose mental health was already poorer and more precarious. These include people living with mental health problems, whose access to services has been interrupted; people who live with both mental health problems and long term physical conditions that put them at greater risk of the virus; older adults who are both susceptible to the virus themselves and much more likely than others to lose partners and peers; women and children exposed to trauma and violence at home during lockdown; and people from the ethnic groups where the prevalence of COVID-19 has been highest and outcomes have been the worst, notably people from Black British, Black African, Bangladeshi and Pakistani backgrounds. The paper calls on the Government to take urgent action to address race inequality in mental health, including the urgent need for funding for organisations working in communities that have been affected most deeply by the pandemic. It calls for action to ensure people with mental health problems have access to food and medicine as well as continued financial safety-nets for those at greatest risk from the virus. And it calls for longer term action, including to build on the positive steps that have already been taken to prevent homelessness and improve the benefits system. (Edited publisher abstract)
Equalities in mental health
- Author:
- NATIONAL MENTAL HEALTH DEVELOPMENT UNIT
- Publisher:
- National Mental Health Development Unit
- Publication year:
- 2010
- Pagination:
- 9p.
- Place of publication:
- London
This fact sheet outlines some relevant facts and figures relating to inequality in mental health. It discusses race issues, age and sex discrimination, and inequalities with those with learning disabilities. It also highlights how these inequalities affect children and young people.
Keeping your eye on the process: body image, older women, and countertransference
- Authors:
- ALTSCHULER Joanne, KATZ Anne D.
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 53(3), April 2010, pp.200-214.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
This research on body image and countertransference issues is comprised of 7 case studies of racially and ethnically diverse women over 60 in the United States. They were drawn from the authors’ experiences of student and agency staff supervision and participant feedback from a workshop at a national conference on ageing. Following a review of literature to date, the authors define and discuss the issue of countertransference as “unconscious feelings that may surface to consciousness in the clinician”, which can occur during the course of practitioner’s work with older women. The 7 case examples, many with older, black and minority ethnic women, covered the following themes, loss and grief, adult daughter/ageing mother, incest/sexual abuse, anger or aggression, disability; personality disorders and phobic reactions and shame. The authors discuss in detail the implications of this work for social work practice, education and further research in the future and caution practitioners from making generalisations and assumptions about how older women evaluate their bodies. It is of specific importance to keep in mind that older women are not a monolithic group, and that weight and beauty ‘norms’ may vary over time (life cycle) and within and between cultures and ethnic groups, social classes, and predisposing physical and mental health conditions, say the authors.
Screening for depression in African American and Caucasian older women
- Authors:
- HELLER Kenneth, VIKEN Richard J., SWINDLE Ralph W.
- Journal article citation:
- Aging and Mental Health, 14(3), April 2010, pp.339-346.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
The purpose of this study was to assess the performance of a 2-choice (yes/no), 10-item shortened form of the CES-D (Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Instrument) in both African American and Caucasian older women. The CES-D is a widely used screening instrument, but its use has been questioned for routine screening because of its length and the complexity of its 4-choice format. There is also little data available about its suitability in low-income African American respondents. Telephone screening for depression followed by in-home diagnostic interviews were conducted in a community sample of 256 Caucasian and 186 African American low-income older women who ranged in age from 64 to 94 years. Standard receiver operator curves were plotted to determine the sensitivities and specificities of the screening instrument at different cut-scores against a criterion of SCID-based diagnoses of current major depressive episode (CMDE). The results demonstrated that the sensitivity and specificity of the 10-item scale and an even shorter 5-item version was slightly higher for African American than for Caucasian women. While both short forms produced significant numbers of false positives against a criterion of CMDE, many of the women identified by the screen did have significant depressive symptomatology. Significantly, fewer African American women received a diagnosis of CMDE primarily because they did not show diminution of functioning associated with their depressive symptoms. The article concludes that short, easy to administer forms of the CES-D can provide useful information in working with older patients. Clinicians should be aware of ethnic differences in symptom expression and levels of functional impairment.
Postretirement earnings relative to preretirement earnings: gender and racial differences
- Authors:
- OZAWA Martha N., HONG Baeg-Eui
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 47(3/4), 2006, pp.63-82.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
As the social security program in the United States comes under increasing financial pressure in the coming decades, the federal government will encourage elderly people to continue to work. There is public concern about how women and minorities will fare economically in this changing policy environment, and whether women and minorities will be able to keep earning money after they reach retirement age. This article presents the results of a study that investigated the postretirement earnings, relative to the preretirement earnings, of women and minorities in the United States, and compared the results with those for men and whites. The major finding, based on regression analyses, was that women's postretirement earnings, relative to their preretirement earnings, were greater than those of men. Furthermore, the regression results indicate that nonwhites' postretirement earnings could not be predicted by their preretirement earnings or by any of the independent variables used in the study, including age, gender, education, marital status, number of children, occupation, and preretirement earnings. (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre, Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580).
Working with older women in research: some methods-based issues
- Authors:
- WARREN Lorna, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Quality in Ageing, 4(4), December 2003, pp.18-23.
- Publisher:
- Pier Professional
- Place of publication:
- Brighton
This article critical reflects on the experiences of working with older women from a range of communities in research. The focus is on the practicalities of setting up and carrying out the research, though implications for the process of policy-making are also briefly highlighted. The 'Older women's lives and voices' project, funded by the ESRC Growing Older (GO) Programme, aimed to find out more about the experiences of women aged 50 and over from a range of ethnic groups, focusing on the services that they use and would like to use.
Women, ethnicity and empowerment in later life
- Author:
- ESRC GROWING OLDER PROGRAMME
- Publisher:
- University of Sheffield. Department of Sociological Studies
- Publication year:
- 2002
- Pagination:
- 4p.
- Place of publication:
- Sheffield
Studies of later life are increasingly emphasising its positive aspects as a time which is not necessarily linked to decline and dependency. While it is important not to underestimate the material and resource needs of older people and the very real constraints within which many live, it is also necessary to challenge negative stereotyping and examine the possibilities for pursuing satisfying lives. Gender is also accepted as an important variable in the experience of advancing years. Since women live longer than men, the proportion of older women to men increases with age and more women than ever reach older' old age. One aspect of the ageing process which is relatively underresearched relates to ethnicity. Although minority ethnic groups tend to have a smaller proportion of their population over 60 years, this is changing and commentators expect the current situation, where there are more minority ethnic men than women in the older population, to be reversed in the future. This project conducted interviews and focus groups with women aged 60+from a variety of ethnic backgrounds. It focussed on quality of life, empowerment and what the women identify as enhancing or debilitating in terms of living their later years.
Gender ethnicity and empowerment in later life
- Authors:
- AFSHAR Haleh, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Quality in Ageing, 3(1), March 2002, pp.27-33.
- Publisher:
- Pier Professional
- Place of publication:
- Brighton
Studies of later life are increasingly emphasising its positive aspects as a time which is not necessarily linked to decline and dependency. Gender is also accepted as an important variable in the experience of advancing years. However, the significance of ethnicity is less often emphasised. Based on preliminary analyses from research with older women from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, this article focuses on what they identify as important in terms of living their later years. The article emphasises migration and cultural differences in perceptions of ageing. It concludes with a discussion of the meanings of empowerment.