23(1) Care or Older People; Studies on Self-Management for Older People with Chronic Illnesses and Disabilities. The management of functional loss demands the recruitment of supportive resources that vary substantially by gender and stage of life. For aging women, who are coping with diminishing family and economic resources, the challenge of managing diminishing physical abilities is magnified. Women who have lived with physical disabilities since early or mid-life may have developed support systems that enable them to pursue their personal and career goals; however, these systems are often not adequate to respond to the needs that arise when the consequences of aging combine with the consequences of long-term disability. In our current R01-funded study we have employed qualitative and quantitative methodologies to identify factors that contribute to optimal health in women with a range of functional limitations. We constructed a predictive model of health promotion for women with physical disabilities that considers contextual factors and health maintenance behaviors. We now seek to test this model and intervention in the context of aging.
The aim of our proposed research is to understand the mechanisms used by women with long-term physical disabilities to manage increasing functional loss associated with aging. To obtain pilot data that will ground a larger intervention study, we propose to do a qualitative interview study of 20 women aging with physical disabilities and their family and friends who provide social support. We will accomplish the following objectives: 1. Examine techniques used by women to self-manage increasing functional loss associated with aging with disability. 2. Examine changes in the way women aging with physical disabilities use social support of family and friends to maintain role functioning in the home, in society, and in the workplace. The themes identified through these interviews will be used to design a larger study that will refine and test the analytic model and workshop intervention developed in our current study of health promotion for women with physical disabilities, with a specific focus on the unique circumstances of aging with long-term disability.
