Predoctoral Fellowship in Public and Community Health- Successful Aging Among Asi

项目总结/摘要 具体目标：本探索性研究将采用质性研究方法，1）根据亚裔长者的情况，引出成功老龄化和社会参与的价值和意义; 2）确定亚裔长者参与社会活动和其他形式社会参与的动机因素和阻碍因素;以及3）评估社会参与与生活质量以及身心健康和健康的定量测量相关的方式。 研究设计和方法：本研究将招募居住在密尔沃基地区的中国和苗族老人，这是该地区最大的亚洲人口。外联工作将通过与当地社区组织建立伙伴关系来完成，这些组织向华人和苗族长者提供服务。本研究将采用建构主义的方法，以生活故事的形式，探讨社会参与、“成功老龄化”、生活质量和身心健康之间的关系。该方法论是由生命历程视角理论驱动的，该理论将衰老过程解释为社会背景和文化意义的塑造，并且是一个动态和背景化的过程。生活故事的分析将是归纳的，使用扎根理论。这项研究的结果将提供独特的见解，亚洲老年人的需要，有重要的影响，由医疗服务提供者和服务机构提供的服务。 与NIA的使命和研究重点的相关性：本研究讨论了NIA的使命，以支持与老龄化过程和老年美国人的需求相关的行为和社会研究。在美国，随着老年人口的增长，亚裔老年人口也在迅速增长，其中许多人是第一代移民。因此，亚洲老年人可能会面临独特的问题，有关的文化差异之间的规范做法的老年人护理在美国与他们的祖国。由于亚洲长者在界定“成功老去”的概念时可能持有独特的文化价值观，因此本研究将有助于确定他们的独特需求。这项研究具有潜在的翻译价值，为亚洲老年人提供旨在改善健康和福祉的服务。

Project Summary/Abstract Specific aims: This exploratory study will use qualitative methods to 1) Elicit the values and meaning of successful aging and social engagement according to Asian elders; 2) Determine the factors that motivate and the barriers that deter Asian elders from engaging in social activities and other forms of social engagement; and 3) Assess the ways in which social engagement correlates with quantitative measures of quality of life, and mental and physical health and wellness. Research design and methodology: This study will enroll Chinese and Hmong elders, the largest Asian populations in the region, living in the Milwaukee area. Outreach will be accomplished through establishing partnerships with local community-based organizations that provide services to Chinese and Hmong elders. By employing the use of life stories, where the respondent's accounts of his/her life is delivered orally, this study will take a constructionist approach to exploring the relationship among social engagement, "successful aging", quality of life, and mental and physical health and wellness. The methodology is driven by the life course perspective theory which explains the process of aging as shaped by social contexts and cultural meanings and is a process that is dynamic and contextual. Analysis of the life stories will be inductive, using grounded theory. The results of this study will provide unique insights into the needs of Asian elders which have important implications for service provision by health care providers and service agencies. Relevance to the NIA's mission and research priorities: This study addresses the NIA's mission to support behavioral and social research related to the aging process and needs of older Americans. Concurrent with the growing population of the elderly in the United States is a rapidly growing population of Asian elders, many of whom are first generation immigrants. As such, Asian elders may face unique issues related to cultural differences between normative practices of elder care in the US versus their native homeland. Because Asian elders may hold unique cultural values in defining the concept of "successful aging" this study will help identify their unique needs. This study has potential translational vale in informing service provision aimed at improving health and well-being for the elderly Asian population.