The debate over national health insurance has renewed attention on the health and health care utilization of the elderly. Few questions have been more poignant than the health of the United States' elderly. As a broad-ranging critical look, "Health and Health Care Utilization in Later Life" brings the central questions facing the elderly into bold relief. It spans the range of health concerns the elderly face daily. The debates over health care rage, often without having the relevant facts. "Health and Health Care Utilization in Later Life" brings the facts to the fore but just as importantly, it brings a sensitive feeling for the realities of health as a driving force in the daily lives of old people.
SECTION I: PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH IN THE LATER YEARS
Life Events, Social Support, and Immune Response in Elderly Individuals William Alex McIntosh, Howard B. Kaplan, Karen S. Kubena, and Wendall A. Landmann Associations among Healthy Habits, Age, Gender, and Education in a Sample of Retirees J. Paul Leigh and James F. Fries
Self-Efficacy and Depressive Symptomatology in Older Adults: An Exploratory Study Jennifer Davis-Berman
Depression, Dementia, and Social Supports Sally R. Esser and Peter P. Vitaliano
Social Interaction and Depression in Elderly Individuals Ken J. Rotenberg and Jocelyn Hamel
SECTION II: HEALTH AND SOCIAL CONTEXT
Employment, Social Networks, and Health in the Retirement Years Michál E. Mor-Barak, Andrew E. Scharlach, Lourdes Birba, and Jacque Sokolov Rural versus Urban Differences in Health Dependence among the Elderly Population John A. Krout
Social Dimensions of Mental Illness among Rural Elderly Populations Jon Hendricks and Howard B. Turner
Subjective Well-Being among the Rural Elderly Population Jay Meddin and Alan Vaux
Seniors' Assessment of their Health and Life Satisfaction: The Case for Contextual Evaluation G. Elaine Stolar, Michael I. MacEntee, and Patricia Hill
Effects of Bereavement/Loss and Pre-Event Status on Subsequent Physical Health in Older Adults Stanley A. Murrell, Samuel Himmelfarb, and James F. Phifer
SECTION III: HEALTH CARE SYSTEM AND UTILIZATION PATTERNS
Race, Gender, and the Effect of Social Supports on the Use of Health Services by Elderly Individuals Martha A. Nelson Implications of a Mental Health Intervention for Elderly Mentally Ill Residents of Residential Care Facilities Leonard E. Gottesman, Ellen Peskin, Kathleen Kennedy, and Jana Mossey
Contributors
Biography
Jon Hendricks is Dean at the University Honors College and Professor of Sociology at Oregon State University.
