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The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences Advance Access originally published online on March 13, 2009
The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 2009 64B(5):635-643; doi:10.1093/geronb/gbp011
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© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org.

Complementary Therapy Use and Health Self-Management Among Rural Older Adults

Thomas A. Arcury1, Joseph G. Grzywacz1, Eleanor P. Stoller2, Ronny A. Bell3, Kathryn P. Altizer1, Christine Chapman3 and Sara A. Quandt3

1 Department of Family and Community Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
3 Department of Epidemiology and Prevention, Division of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
2 Department of Sociology, Reynolda Gerontology Program, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Address correspondence to Thomas A. Arcury, PhD, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157-1084. Email: tarcury{at}wfubmc.edu


  Abstract

Objectives: This article describes dimensions of complementary therapy use among rural older adults, employs these dimensions to delineate sets of complementary therapy use, and describes the personal characteristics related to each set of complementary therapy use.

Methods: Data are from in-depth interviews conducted with 62 African American and White rural older adults.

Results: Three dimensions of complementary therapy use are delineated: types of therapies used, mindfulness in therapy use, and sharing information with conventional health care providers. The intersection of these dimensions indicates 5 patterned sets of complementary therapy use among rural older adults: (a) mindful use of only home remedies; (b) mindful use of home remedies and contemporary supplements; (c) mindful use of home remedies, contemporary supplements, and complementary practices; (d) nonmindful use of home remedies and contemporary supplements; and (e) use of conventional care only. Involvement in the 5 sets of therapy use is related to sex, ethnicity, educational attainment, and migration.

Discussion: Understanding how older adults include sets of complementary therapies in their health self-management is important for improving their health care resources, expectations, awareness, and priorities.

Key Words: Complementary and alternative medicine • Health disparities • Health self-management • Minority aging • Rural aging

Received July 22, 2008; Accepted January 22, 2009

Decision Editor: Kenneth F. Ferraro, PhD


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