Doctoral Dissertation Research: Aging Conceptualizations and Personal Relationships of Mature Women and Primary Care Physicians

University Of Florida, Gainesville FL

Investigators

Abstract

0241675 Stansbury / Grant Health care providers often share the widespread view that sexuality becomes less important as people age, particularly for those who are no longer married due to divorce, separation or widowhood. Many physicians appear to be reluctant to discuss these issues with their mid-life and older patients, which can be problematic not only for patients' health and well-being. A lack of knowledge can have serious consequences regarding clinical HIV prevention. Since the transmission trends of those age 50 and over with HIV/AIDS are beginning to mirror those of younger populations, with increases in heterosexual transmission as well as increasing percentages of women and minorities, additional understanding of the risky behavior of mid-life and older persons is important. This dissertation research, by an anthropology graduate student studies how physicians and "recently single" (separated, divorced or widowed) women age 45-70 in a large, conservative Northeast Florida city conceptualize aging and sexuality. The information will be gathered through in-depth interviews with 60 women drawn from African American, Latina, and EuroAmerican populations. The project will use systematic data collection techniques (called cultural consensus analysis) to assess the cultural models of the respondents. The project will advance our understanding of how varying perceptions about patient-doctor communication might differ in such a way as to inhibit effective interaction. The broader impacts of this project include aiding the training of a young social scientist, and advancing our understanding of how "recently single" mature women (including Blacks, Whites and Latinos) deal with their sexual behavior in a medical context. The new knowledge should serve to aid in targeting safer-sex messages to hard-to-reach populations. The knowledge will be useful for public health campaigns, and will provide the basis for developing physician-training modules to address sexual health and clinical HIV prevention with mature women. In addition, the project builds on the work of other medical anthropologists studying health perceptions by combining qualitative and quantitative methods to explore variations in health beliefs.