XIX ISA World Congress of Sociology (July 15-21, 2018)

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Older Adults Health: Community Care and Disability Management

RC15 Sociology of Health (host committee)
RC11 Sociology of Aging

Language: English

Many seniors fail to report health problems, delay seeking health care, and/or do not manage their chronic conditions to clinical standards. Health care services are often less personal, siloed, and do not consider patients’ active roles in their health care. There is an urgent need to reduce health care costs for seniors, potentially by developing cost-effective, community-based programs. Research shows that seniors’ participation in reciprocity-focused community activities reduces loneliness and helps them age-in-place, but there is limited literature as to whether and how seniors’ involvement in these community groups helps to maintain or improve their health outcomes. This session will examine whether community-based groups for seniors, such as support groups, time-banks, village models, naturally-occurring retirement communities (NORCs), senior centers, or other community-capacity building strategies (aka social capital), are effective in addressing chronic condition management (e.g., depression or mental health disorders, mild cognitive or physical functioning difficulties, etc.), perhaps compared to the usual standard of care via medical or pharmaceutical  interventions. Papers may focus on community-based groups and seniors’ connections and reciprocity among neighbors to reduce social isolation, improve self-care/management practices or health behaviors, improve self-reported health or well-being, or lower health care use, costs, medications, or hospitalizations. Papers may use quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods.