Dissertation Research: Meanings of Aging and Chronic Illness

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The incidence of chronic illness and the need for healthcare increase with age. Older adults may regard physical changes such as tremor or slowness as normal biological aging. However, these physical manifestations are also symptoms of the progressive neurological condition, Parkinson's Disease (PD). PD causes disability, produces embarrassing symptoms, and requires access to costly prescriptions and the care of medical specialists. This research investigates how a cultural model of aging as a period of inevitable physical decline affects elderly persons' experience of physical changes that may be due to normal aging or to progressive disease. The study examines why older persons with PD made the decision to seek medical treatment. Autobiographical interviews with PD sufferers, observations at support group meetings, interviews with family caregivers and physicians, and focus groups with older adults who do not have PD, will provide information regarding individuals' perceptions of the signs of aging and the relationship between those perceptions and their subjective need for healthcare. A questionnaire that measures health status will be used to explore the connections between participants' beliefs and their disease burden. The aging of the US population underscores the importance of designing services that account for cultural models of health, disease, and aging. Broader Impacts: This study explores the relationships among beliefs, biology, and healthcare, and incorporates older adults' perspectives within a larger examination of healthcare. The study may provide recommendations for improving diagnosis, healthcare policy, and doctor-patient communication. The project highlights the needs of a stigmatized population and contributes to the education of a young social scientist.