Social Influences on the Health of Aging Arab Americans

这项申请是对研究目标种族/民族差异的回应。这项建议的重点特别是研究导致晚年、疾病和残疾的种族/族裔差异的社会因素。对非多数移民/族裔群体之间老龄化、健康和社会关系的研究正在成为发现重大趋势的重要途径，这些趋势可能导致对老龄化过程的更全面的理论理解，可能有助于服务提供者帮助这些人口，以及作为公共政策建议的基础。这项试点研究将以老年阿拉伯裔美国人为目标，这是美国境内一个日益增长的移民/种族群体。阿拉伯裔美国老年人是一个重要的移民群体，被卫生保健领域的专业人士视为高危人群。样本将包括60岁及以上的移民和土生土长的阿拉伯裔美国人，他们生活在底特律大都市地区，那里是中东以外最大的阿拉伯裔美国人聚集地。该项目的目标是开始记录老年阿拉伯裔美国人的健康和社会关系模式。老年人的家庭是那些最会感受到伴随着虚弱而来的责任的人，然而移民/种族群体之间的社会关系可能在重要方面不同于占主导地位的美国社会。社会网络和支持特征的性质对老年人的健康和幸福有影响，并可能对社会关系和健康之间的联系产生新的见解。这一目标包括两个具体目标：1)利用焦点群体数据作为获取文化相关信息的机制，在定性的水平上探讨这一问题；2)检验关于阿拉伯裔美国老年人健康与社会关系(控制SES)之间关系的初步假设。将与三个不同的阿拉伯裔美国老年人群体组织焦点小组讨论：讲阿拉伯语的移民、说英语的移民和在美国出生的阿拉伯裔美国老年人。焦点小组讨论的结果将提供有关老龄化、健康和社会关系的文化因素的重要信息。然后，将对35-50名讲阿拉伯语的移民老年人、35-50名说英语的移民老年人和35-50名在美国出生的阿拉伯裔美国老年人进行现有的调查(社会关系调查)。分析将主要是描述性的，审查移民身份对社会关系和健康的作用，以及确定健康和社会关系方面的性别模式。提出的方法是多方面的，试图捕捉文化对老年阿拉伯裔美国人疾病和残疾的影响的细节。这些分析将为对种族/族裔群体(阿拉伯裔美国人、非裔美国人、拉丁裔和欧洲裔美国人)进行比较研究奠定基础，这反过来又将有助于更好地了解种族/族裔因素，因为它们与疾病和残疾有关。

This application is a response to RESEARCH OBJECTIVE 3)Racial/Ethnic Differences. The exact emphasis of this proposal is particularly geared toward research on social factors contributing to racial/ethnic differences in late life diseases and disability. The study of aging, health, and social relations among non-majority immigrant/ethnic groups is becoming an important avenue for discerning significant trends that may lead to a more complete theoretical understanding of the aging process, may help service providers assist such populations, as well as serve as a basis for public policy recommendations. This pilot study will target aging Arab Americans, a growing immigrant/ethnic group within the United States. Arab American elderly represent a significant immigrant group deemed to be a population-at-risk by professionals in the health care field. The sample will consist of both immigrant and native born Arab Americans sixty years and over who live in the metropolitan Detroit area which is home to the largest concentration of Arab Americans outside of the Middle East. The objective of this project is to begin to document the patterns of health and social relations among aging Arab Americans. The families of the elderly are those who will most feel the responsibility that accompanies frailty, yet social relations among an immigrant/ethnic group may differ in important ways from dominant American society. The nature of social network and support characteristics has implications for the health and well-being of the elderly, and may yield new insights into the association between social relations and health. This objective encompasses two specific aims: 1) To explore this issue at a qualitative level in using focus group data as a mechanism for obtaining culturally relevant information; and 2) To test preliminary hypotheses about the relationship between health and social relations (controlling for SES) among Arab American elderly. Focus group discussions will be organized with three different groups of Arab American elders: Arabic speaking immigrants, English speaking immigrants, and Arab American elderly born in the United States. Results from the focus group discussions will provide important information about the cultural elements of aging, health and social relations. An existing survey (Survey of Social Relations) will then be administered to 35-50 Arabic speaking immigrant elderly, 35-50 English speaking immigrant elderly, and 35-50 Arab American elderly born in the United States. Analysis will be primarily descriptive, examining the role of immigrant status on social relations and health, as well as to determine gender patterns with regard to health and social relations. The methods proposed are multifaceted, attempting to capture the details of cultural influences on the disease and disability of elderly Arab Americans. These analyses will lay the foundation for a comparative study of racial/ethnic groups (Arab Americans, African American, Latino, and European American) that will in turn facilitate a better understanding of racial/ethnic factors as they relate to disease and disability.