In their later years, Americans of different racial and ethnic backgrounds are not in equally good-or equally poor-health. There is wide variation, but on average older Whites are healthier than older Blacks and tend to outlive them. But Whites tend to be in poorer health than Hispanics and Asian Americans. This volume documents the differentials and considers possible explanations. Selection processes play a role: selective migration, for instance, or selective survival to advanced ages. Health differentials originate early in life, possibly even before birth, and are affected by events and experiences throughout the life course. Differences in socioeconomic status, risk behavior, social relations, and health care all play a role. Separate chapters consider the contribution of such factors and the biopsychosocial mechanisms that link them to health. This volume provides the empirical evidence for the research agenda provided in the separate report of the Panel on Race, Ethnicity, and Health in Later Life.

Winner of the Richard Kalish Innovative Publication Award 2021. Part of the Ageing in a Global Context series, this book proposes a new research agenda for scholarship that focuses on ethnicity, race and old age. It argues that in a time of increased international migration, population ageing and ethno-cultural diversity, scholarly imagination must be expanded as current research frameworks are becoming obsolete. By bringing attention to the way that ethnicity and race have been addressed in research on ageing and old age, with a focus on health inequalities, health and social care, intergenerational relationships and caregiving, the book proposes how research can be developed in an ethnicity astute and diversity informed manner.

In a time of Growing awareness of the diversity among elders, Fried and Mehrotra provide an excitingly fresh perspective that helps us develop a clearer understanding of gerontology and that bridges the gap between students and service providers in the field. Aging and Diversity combines a clear narrative with active learning experiences. The authors invite readers to broaden their works view, enhance culturally relevant skills, understand older adults through a life-course perspective, and view aging from a multi-ethnic perspective. Specific chapters address psychological aging, issues in health and sexuality, caregiving, work and retirement, religion and spirituality, and death and grieving. For ease of use, each chapter includes orienting questions, a narrative that includes and introduction and summary, vignettes, structured orienting questions, a narrative that includes and introduction and summary, vignettes, structured individual and group learning experiences, comprehension tests, quizzes, glossary, and an annotated bibliography of suggested readings. Aging and Diversity offers undergraduates and service providers tools that will enable them to understand diversity and its impact on the lives of older adults in the United States Aging and Diversity will be invaluable to both students and practitioners in the fields of gerontology, psychology and sociology of aging, counseling, adult learning, social work, family studies, and multicultural studies.

Almost 25 years have passed since the Demography of Aging (1994) was published by the National Research Council. Future Directions for the Demography of Aging is, in many ways, the successor to that original volume. The Division of Behavioral and Social Research at the National Institute on Aging (NIA) asked the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to produce an authoritative guide to new directions in demography of aging. The papers published in this report were originally presented and discussed at a public workshop held in Washington, D.C., August 17-18, 2017. The workshop discussion made evident that major new advances had been made in the last two decades, but also that new trends and research directions have emerged that call for innovative conceptual, design, and measurement approaches. The report reviews these recent trends and also discusses future directions for research on a range of topics that are central to current research in the demography of aging. Looking back over the past two decades of demography of aging research shows remarkable advances in our understanding of the health and well-being of the older population. Equally exciting is that this report sets the stage for the next two decades of innovative researchâ€"a period of rapid growth in the older American population.

This state-of-the-art, multi-disciplinary reference is the first to assess the empirical research and conceptual frameworks for understanding the mental health needs and services use of the ethnic elderly. Leading scholars, researchers, and clinicians in gerontology, epidemiology, psychiatry, psychology, sociology, anthropology, nursing, and social work appraise varying approaches, the demographics, the mental health status and service use of the ethnic elderly, and issues in the diagnosis, treatment, and mental health service delivery for the ethnic aged: for African Americans, American Indians, Asian and Pacific Islander Americans, and Hispanic/Latino Americans. This unique handbook is a valuable resource and text for students, teachers, and professionals in a broad array of fields and settings. The handbook considers such problems as Alzheimer's Disease, depression and problems of coping, culturally specific psychosocial nursing care programs, the role of culture and class in mental and physical co-morbidity among the elderly, and important life-course perspectives for specific groups. Students, teachers, and professionals in many fields and settings will find this unique handbook a valuable resource and text.

Older Americans, even the oldest, can now expect to live years longer than those who reached the same ages even a few decades ago. Although survival has improved for all racial and ethnic groups, strong differences persist, both in life expectancy and in the causes of disability and death at older ages. This book examines trends in mortality rates and selected causes of disability (cardiovascular disease, dementia) for older people of different racial and ethnic groups. The determinants of these trends and differences are also investigated, including differences in access to health care and experiences in early life, diet, health behaviors, genetic background, social class, wealth and income. Groups often neglected in analyses of national data, such as the elderly Hispanic and Asian Americans of different origin and immigrant generations, are compared. The volume provides understanding of research bearing on the health status and survival of the fastest-growing segment of the American population.