The ultimate goal of this Mentored Career Development Award (K01) is to provide the applicant with skills and experience to establish an independent program of research that builds upon the limited understanding of physical disability and associated care needs among American Indian elderly and same-aged Whites. The training plan of this award is designed to provide rigorous instruction in gerontological health, primarily through the development of new specific knowledge in American Indian health policy, health care, and culture, as well as through training in the area of epidemiology and theoretical aspects of disability. The proposed training goals provide additional mentoring in (1) disability studies, (2) unmet care needs and needs assessment, (3) health care policy and cultural aspects of American Indian health and health care, and (4) advanced quantitative methods for the social sciences. The immediate research goal of this career development award is to collect primary data using a cross-sectional design. Data will be collected with a survey instrument via face-to-face interviews with community-dwelling elderly 65 years or older. A total of 400 completed interviews will be sought, with 200 American Indian and 200 White elderly participants. The research will examine racial differences in physical disability and in the effect of comorbidity and functional limitations on physical disability. The research will also investigate racial differences in unmet care needs and how ethnic identity among American Indian elderly influences unmet care needs. ? ? Findings from this study will allow for the refining and reshaping of a theoretical model to better understand unique aspects of disability among American Indian elders. This research will also serve as the baseline for a future R01 application that will expand this work into a longitudinal study, providing a means to examine the progression of disability over time among American Indian elderly. ? ? Understanding racial differences in the development and experience of disability will yield valuable information on how to reduce the health disparities currently faced by American Indian elders. ? ?
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