Health‐Promoting Behaviors, Perceived Social Support, and Self‐Reported Health of Appalachian Elderly

Abstract

The purpose of this descriptive correlational study was to examine the relationships among health-promoting behaviors, perceived social support, and self-reported health of 113 persons age 55 years and over, who were attending nutrition sites in northern West Virginia. Three hypotheses were formulated: (1) health-promoting behaviors are positively related to perceived social support; (2) health-promoting behaviors are positively related to self-reported health, and (3) perceived social support is positively related to self-reported health. Only the first two were supported by our findings. Data analysis revealed positive correlations between the average health-promoting lifestyle profile (HPLP) score and education, and frequency of attending the nutrition site screening clinics for high blood pressure and diabetes. Better-educated subjects scored higher on selected subscales of the HPLP (self-actualization and health responsibility). Age was negatively correlated with the HPLP subscales of health responsibility and exercise. Nurses and support personnel at nutrition sites should focus increased attention on the older participants and those who are less well-educated. Expanding the variety and frequency of health services available to nutrition site participants merits attention.

Assessing the Role of the Family/Support System Perspective in Patients With Glaucoma

“…20 Perceived support is the aspect of social support that is most closely linked with physical and emotional health. [20][21][22][23]32 We found it instructive that glaucoma patients' family members and caregivers did not feel they were supporting patients well early on in the disease process. If patients' inner circle of friends and family do not feel actively engaged in supporting glaucoma patients' selfmanagement, it is very likely that patients do not feel adequately supported.…”

“…[17][18][19][20][21][22][23] The results of the reviews and interviews were then used to create a focus group script, which underwent pilot testing and additional revision.…”

How race affects health services use by older women

“…However, cultural barriers also need to be considered. For example, forced-choice instruments may limit the diversity of responses in ethnic groups (Riffle, Yoho, & Sams, 1989), and certain symptoms may not be viewed as legit-B. J. Gale andj.…”

Health Promotion Lifestyles of Women Experiencing Crises

“…The HPLP I1 has been used to ascertain the health-promoting lifestyles of various populations including older adults (Foster, 1992;Riffle, Yoho, & Sams, 1989;Walker, Volkan, Sechrist, & Pender, 1988), employed men and women (Duffy, 1989;Lusk, Kerr, &Ronis, 1995;Pender et al, 1990), midlife women (Duffy, 1988), postmenopausal women (Ali & Bennett, 1992), African American women (Ahijevych & Bernhard, 1994), and rural women (Gillis & Peny, 1991). The instrument has not been used specifically to study the health-promoting activities of women in crisis situations, such as homelessness, yet the extensive sampling of women in previous studies lends credence to the use of this tool.…”