This study determined whether differences could be observed in the health status
and morale of older rural adults living within an area of rural to urban change
and older urban adults. Results showed no differences in the perceived health status
of urban and rural elderly, in the number of days sick or hospitalized, physical
ability to get around, type of health problems, hearing, or morale. Important
differences were found in income, education, employment, marital status, and race.
The data caution against the use of broad rural-urban generalizations in addressing
the health status of the rural elderly without consideration of metropolitan location
and suggest the utility of maximizing urban resources to augment the support
networks of outlying elderly.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Biegel, D. E., Shore, B. K., & Gordon, E. ( 1984). Building support networks for the elderly: Theory and applications, Beverly Hills, CA, Sage Publications.
2.
Cantril, H. (1965). The pattern of human concerns. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
3.
Clifford, W. B., Heaton, T. B., & Fuguitt, G. V. (1982). Residential mobility and living arrangements among the elderly: Changing patterns in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. International Journal of Aging and Human Development , 14, 139-156.
4.
Coward, R. T. (1979). Planning community services for the rural elderly: Implications from research. The Gerontologist, 19, 275-282.
5.
Coward, R. T. & Lee, G. R. (1984). The elderly in rural society . In R. T. Coward and G. R. Lee (Eds.), The elderly in rural society (pp. 1-23). New York: Springer Publishing.
6.
Glenn, N. D., & Hill, R. (1977). Rural-urban differences in attitudes and behavior in the United States. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences (pp. 36-50).
7.
Kim, P. K. H., & Lamprey, H. (1979). A bibliography on aspects of mental health in rural aging. Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky.
8.
Kivett, V. R. (1985). Consanguinity and kin level: Their relative importance to the helping network of older adults. Journal of Gerontology, 40, 228-234.
9.
Kivett, V. R., & Atkinson, M. P. (1984). Filial expectations, association, and helping as a function of number of children among older rural-transitional parents. Journal of Gerontology, 39, 499-503.
10.
Krout, J. A. (1983). The rural elderly: An annotated bibliography of social science research. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
11.
Larson, R. (1978). Thirty years of research on the subjective well-being of older Americans. Journal of Gerontology, 33, 109-129.
12.
Lassey, W. R., & Lassey, M. L. (1984). The physical health status of the rural elderly. In R. T. Coward and G. R. Lee (Eds.). The elderly in rural society (pp. 83-104). New York: Springer Publishing.
13.
Lawton, M. P. (1975). The Philadelphia geriatric morale scale: A revision. Journal of Gerontology , 30, 85-89.
14.
Lee, G. R., & Lassey, M. L. (1980) Rural-urban differences among the elderly: Economic, social and subjective factors. Journal of Social Issues, 36(2), 62-74.
15.
Paringer, L., Bluck, J., Feter, J., & Holahan, J. (1979). Health status and use of medical services. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute.
16.
Scheidt, R. J. (1984a). The mental health of the aged in rural environments. In R. T. Coward and G. R. Lee (Eds.), The elderly in rural society (pp. 105-127). New York: Springer Publishing.
17.
Scheidt, R. J. (1984b). A taxonomy of well-being for small-town elderly: A case for rural diversity. The Gerontologist, 24, 84-90.
18.
Scheidt, R. J. (1981). Psychosocial environmental predictors of mental health of the small-town rural elderly . In P. K. H. Kim (Ed.), Toward mental health of the rural elderly (pp. 53-80). Washington, DC : University Press of America.
19.
Select Committee on Aging. (1983a). Status of the rural elderly. Vol. 1 (Comm. Pub. No. 98-397). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
20.
Select Committee on Aging. (1983b). Status of the rural elderly. Vol. 2 (Comm. Pub. No. 98-398). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
21.
Special Committee on Aging. (1982). Hearing before the Special Committee on Aging, United States Senate. Ninety-Seventh Congress. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
22.
U. S. Bureau of the Census. (1973). 1970 census of the population (Vol. 1): Characteristics of the population, (Part 35, North Carolina . Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
23.
Wilkinson, C. W. (1982). Aging in rural America: A comprehensive annotated bibliography. Morgantown, WV: Gerontology Center, West Virginia University .
