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Successful Aging Among African American Older Adults With Type 2 Diabetes

Author

Listed:
  • Sarah Chard
  • Brandy Harris-Wallace
  • Erin G. Roth
  • Laura M. Girling
  • Robert Rubinstein
  • Ashanté M. Reese
  • Charlene C. Quinn
  • J. Kevin Eckert

Abstract

Objectives:Rowe and Kahn’s concept of successful aging remains an important model of well-being; additional research is needed, however, to identify how economically and socially disadvantaged older adults experience well-being, including the role of life events. The findings presented here help address this gap by examining the subjective construction of well-being among urban African American adults (age ≥ 50) with Type 2 diabetes.Method:As part of the National Institute on Aging-funded Subjective Experience of Diabetes among Urban Older Adults study, ethnographers interviewed African American older adults with diabetes (n = 41) using an adaptation of the McGill Illness Narrative Interview. Data were coded using an inductively derived codebook. Codes related to aging, disease prognosis, and “worldview” were thematically analyzed to identify constructions of well-being.Results:Participants evaluate their well-being through comparisons to the past and to the illnesses of friends and family. Diabetes self-care motivates social engagement and care of others. At times, distrust of medical institutions means well-being also is established through nonadherence to suggested biomedical treatment.Discussion:Hardship and illness in participants’ lives frame their diabetes experience and notions of well-being. Providers need to be aware of the social, economic, and political lenses shaping diabetes self-management and subjective well-being.

Suggested Citation

  • Sarah Chard & Brandy Harris-Wallace & Erin G. Roth & Laura M. Girling & Robert Rubinstein & Ashanté M. Reese & Charlene C. Quinn & J. Kevin Eckert, 2017. "Successful Aging Among African American Older Adults With Type 2 Diabetes," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 72(2), pages 319-327.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:geronb:v:72:y:2017:i:2:p:319-327.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/geronb/gbw119
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Helen K. Black & Robert L. Rubinstein, 2009. "The Effect of Suffering on Generativity: Accounts of Elderly African American Men," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 64(2), pages 296-303.
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    Cited by:

    1. Derek M Griffith & Emily K Cornish & Erin M Bergner & Marino A Bruce & Bettina M Beech, 2018. "“Health is the Ability to Manage Yourself Without Help†: How Older African American Men Define Health and Successful Aging," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 73(2), pages 240-247.

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