Successful aging in the presence of disability

Khamzina, Madina

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/117784 Copy

Description

Title

Successful aging in the presence of disability

Author(s)

Khamzina, Madina

Issue Date

2022-11-30

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Rogers, Wendy A

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Rogers, Wendy A

Committee Member(s)

• Gothe, Neha
• Mejia, Shannon
• Schwingel, Andiara

Department of Study

Kinesiology & Community Health

Discipline

Community Health

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

• aging
• successful aging
• disability

Abstract

The prominent successful aging theory by Rowe and Kahn (1997) defined successful aging as freedom from disease and disability; high cognitive and physical functioning; and active engagement with life. The inclusion of “freedom from disease and disability” in the definition of successful aging results in the stigmatization and marginalization of older adults living with disabilities. Little attention has been paid to adopting a framework of successful aging specifically for this population group. This dissertation research aimed to explore the concept of successful aging in the presence of a disability by answering the following research questions: 1) what are the key components in the successful aging framework for older adults with disability, 2) what are the relationships between the components of successful aging in the context of disability, and 3) what are the perceptions of successful aging among older adults with disability. We utilized three different approaches to answer these research questions: the literature review phase, the population analysis phase, and the individual explorations phase. In the first approach, the state of literature, we explored successful aging through the historical overview of the concept including challenges, critiques, and limitations as well as evidence from empirical research on successful aging with disability. Using a scoping review of the literature we identified the main components and predictors of successful aging with disability and proposed a framework. Further, in the second phase, the state of the population, we explored a large population dataset to test the relationships between the components of the proposed framework. Lastly, in the third phase, the state of individuals, we interviewed older adults with mobility disabilities about their perceptions of successful aging. The proposed framework in the first phase defined successful aging as a function of disability that could possibly be impacted by social engagement and physical activity. In addition, successful aging was measured using subjective measures of well-being, health, and quality of life. We tested this framework using the National Health and Aging Trends Study dataset in 2011 and replicated our analysis in 2020. Acknowledging the specifics of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we mainly were interested in replicating the analysis and testing the framework in two independent samples across two different times rather than comparing two distinctly different years. The exploration of the relationships between the components of the framework in the second phase revealed that disability was negatively associated with self-rated health and subjective well-being. Social engagement and physical activity partially dampened this effect by reducing the differences in subjective well-being and self-rated health among those with and without disabilities. Overall, participation in social engagement and physical activity showed a positive impact on these outcome measures among all study participants. We estimated the population prevalence of successful aging among older adults with disabilities using our set criteria of successful aging. To our knowledge, this was the first study to provide these estimates among older Americans with disabilities. The third qualitative phase of the dissertation revealed the important areas and perceptions of successful aging among those with mobility disabilities including the importance of accepting and adapting to life with a disability; the ability to cope with health challenges and utilize available resources; as well as the importance of remaining positive and active to the best of one’s abilities and capabilities. We found that the majority of older adults in our sample perceived themselves as aging successfully despite the presence of disability and despite large variability in perceptions of well-being, health, and quality of life. Qualitative exploration revealed that social engagement and physical activity were perceived as important components in the lives of older adults in our study. The dissertation research findings expanded the knowledge about the successful aging experience in the context of disability by introducing a framework that integrated disability as an essential component and testing the framework on population and individual levels. An in-depth exploration of the perceptions of successful aging with a disability could potentially increase the awareness and understanding of how older adults perceive successful aging and how we as a society, community, researchers, family members, and care providers can support and enrich this experience. In addition, our findings could potentially enhance the relevance of interventions and policies targeted toward improving the lives and aging experiences of older populations taking into account the unique characteristics of older adults, tremendous inter- and intraindividual variability within this population, as well as current demographic changes.

Graduation Semester

2022-12

Type of Resource

Thesis

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2022 Madina Khamzina

Owning Collections