Racial and ethnic disparities in mobility device use in late life
Racial and ethnic disparities in mobility device use in late life
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DOI：
10.1093/geronb/63.1.s34
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发表时间：
2008-01-01
影响因子：
6.2
通讯作者：
Freedman, Vicki A.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Cornman, Jennifer C.;Freedman, Vicki A.
目标。尽管残疾方面的种族和民族差异是显而易见的，并且技术越来越多地用于弥合功能缺陷和环境需求之间的差距，但很少有研究关注设备使用方面的种族和民族差异。本研究调查了移动设备的使用是否因种族和民族而异，并探讨了造成这种差异的几个原因。方法。样本包括 2002 年和 2004 年健康与退休研究中 65 岁及以上的社区居民成年人。我们使用倾向因素、需求因素和促成因素来预测移动设备的单独使用以及与个人护理相结合的使用。结果。黑人使用移动设备的比例最高，其次是西班牙裔，然后是白人。需求和促成因素解释了黑人和白人在使用轮椅方面的差异，但不能解释使用手杖或使用没有个人护理的设备的差异。其他诱发因素解释了西班牙裔和白人之间的大部分差异。讨论。由于少数群体使用移动设备的情况似乎与潜在需求成比例，因此增加少数群体的设备使用量可能不会减少行动障碍的差异。因此，解决晚年行动障碍的种族/民族差异的努力可能需要关注潜在功能衰退的差异，而不是对其的适应。
Objectives. Although racial and ethnic disparities in disability are well established and technology is increasingly used to bridge gaps between functional deficits and environmental demands, little research has focused on racial and ethnic disparities in device use. This study investigated whether use of mobility devices differs by race and ethnicity and explored several reasons for this difference.Methods. The sample included community-dwelling adults aged 65 and older from the 2002 and 2004 waves of the Health and Retirement Study. We used predisposing, need, and enabling factors to predict mobility device use alone and combined with personal care.Results. Blacks had the highest rates of using mobility devices, followed by Hispanics and then Whites. Need and enabling factors explained differences between Blacks and Whites in wheelchair use but not cane use or use of devices without personal care. Other predisposing factors explained most differences between Hispanics and Whites.Discussion. Because minorities appear to be using mobility devices in proportion to underlying need, increasing device use by minorities may not reduce disparities in mobility disability. Efforts to address racial/ethnic disparities in mobility disability in late life, therefore, may need to focus on differences in underlying functional decline rather than the accommodation of it.