Oh Hyejung, Noh Hyunjin, Sims Omar T, Guo Yuqi, Sawyer Patricia
a Department of Social Work , California State University Bakersfield , Bakersfield , CA , USA.
b School of Social Work , The University of Alabama , Tuscaloosa , AL , USA.
Soc Work Health Care. 2018 Oct;57(9):762-773. doi: 10.1080/00981389.2018.1497748. Epub 2018 Aug 17.
Although residential geographic health disparities have been noted in the previous literature, studies are specifically lacking on intra-group health comparisons of African American older adults by residential geography. The purpose of this study was to determine if health-related characteristics of African American older adults varied by residential geography. Socioeconomic demographics, medical conditions, primary care use, and self-ratings of general health, social activity, and physical activity were compared in a community-dwelling sample of 327 urban and non-urban African American older adults. Urban and non-urban African American older adults were compared on health-related factors. Compared to urban African American older adults, those in non-urban areas had lower incomes, lower self-ratings of general health, social activity, and physical activity, and a higher frequency of arthritis and gastroenterological and urological conditions. Despite poorer general health and medical conditions, non-urban African American older adults were less likely to visit the doctor when needed. Study findings suggest residential geography may be an underappreciated underlying contributing factor to inter-group health disparities between African American and white older adults and not race alone. Therefore, social workers in public health, health care, and clinical settings should be aware of the interaction between race and residential geography.
尽管先前的文献中已指出居住地理区域存在健康差异，但专门针对非裔美国老年人按居住地理区域进行的群体内部健康比较的研究却十分匮乏。本研究的目的是确定非裔美国老年人与健康相关的特征是否因居住地理区域而异。在一个由327名城市和非城市非裔美国老年人组成的社区居住样本中，对社会经济人口统计学、医疗状况、初级保健利用情况以及一般健康、社会活动和身体活动的自我评分进行了比较。对城市和非城市非裔美国老年人的健康相关因素进行了比较。与城市非裔美国老年人相比，非城市地区的老年人收入较低，一般健康、社会活动和身体活动的自我评分较低，关节炎、胃肠病和泌尿系统疾病的发病率较高。尽管总体健康状况和医疗条件较差，但非城市非裔美国老年人在需要时看医生的可能性较小。研究结果表明，居住地理区域可能是一个未得到充分重视的潜在因素，导致非裔美国老年人和白人老年人之间存在群体间健康差异，而不仅仅是种族因素。因此，公共卫生、医疗保健和临床环境中的社会工作者应意识到种族与居住地理区域之间的相互作用。
