Managing Chronic Illness: Older Adults from the FSU

Oregon Health And Science University, Portland OR

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Abstract

[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The purpose of this proposed study is to examine the role of culture in the management of chronic illness in older adults from an ethnic minority cultural group. The specific aims of the proposed study are to: 1) describe how chronic illness is experienced and managed by older adults and their family caregivers from the Former Soviet Union (FSU); 2) examine how culture (healthcare practices, behaviors and beliefs) influences the management of chronic illness from the perspective of the older adult and their family caregivers within the historic, geographic, personal and social contexts of their everyday lives; and 3) identify the barriers to managing chronic illness from the perspectives of older adults and their family caregivers from the FSU, and identified key informants. A focused ethnographic qualitative design will guide the research. Interviews will be conducted with key informants, older adults with a chronic illness from the FSU and their family caregivers. Participant observation of selected field sites and activities will be combined with the interviews to add depth to the ethnographic description. Utilizing constant comparative analysis, a narrative description will be generated, demonstrating the need for in-depth investigations of a culture's experience of chronic illness to guide the development of interventions. [unreadable] [unreadable]