No abstract

The purpose of this qualitative study was to better understand the experience of wage-earning women in the context of rural economic restructuring. An ecological and life course theoretical framework was used. Nine community leaders and 17 wage-earning women residing in a rural northern Michigan county participated in semistructured interviews, and the prevailing economic concern was low wages and lack of jobs with benefits. Women workers were affected by factors such as ties to rural family business, childcare concerns, and long commutes to work and children's schools. Informal social support and family ties were identified as reasons for remaining in these challenging circumstances.

The issue of prescription drug abuse among the elderly population is multifaceted. Such abuse has implications for the individual's health and his or her family relationships, and has other ecological dimensions. In this in-depth, qualitative case study, one family's experience with prescription drug abuse is examined using human ecological theory as a guiding framework. Findings include the powerful role played by the medical community, influence of societal biases, and family conflict. Implications for training physicians, developing clinical assessments, family treatment, and future research are discussed.The purpose of this article is to discuss the issue of prescription drug abuse among the elderly population using an ecological perspective. The human ecological framework was applied to a case study to expand understanding of the issue beyond the individualistic medical model focusing on an older patient. Human ecological theory was used to illustrate how the various levels play a role in the etiology and maintenance of the older patient's prescription drug abuse.

The unprecedented growth in the older adult population combined with increased scholarly interest in family dynamics has resulted in the gradual expansion of family gerontology as its own area of study. Consisting of both university faculty and practitioners, family gerontology educators integrate multiple disciplines in order to teach about later life families and are responsible for training diverse audiences. To increase awareness about family gerontology and encourage the advancement of this interdisciplinary field, we conducted a comprehensive review of educational resources specific to family gerontology. Our goal was to enable a wide range of educators to introduce or expand their emphasis on families in later life and to incorporate new resources, topics, and teaching strategies that promote family gerontology education.

The study reported here assessed assistance needed with grocery shopping and food preparation among 369 rural community-dwelling older adults. Needing assistance with grocery shopping and food preparation was reported by 21% and 16% of participants, respectively. Among participants needing assistance with grocery shopping and food preparation; 25% and 33%, respectively, reported they never or rarely received the needed assistance. Approximately two-thirds of participants reported they were most likely to receive assistance from their spouse or children. Education on assistive technology designed to facility independent living could assist with many physical limitations community-dwelling older adults experience with grocery shopping and food preparation.