Martha R Crowther

• University of Alabama

Purpose of the Study This study examined whether the relation between perceived racial discrimination and psychiatric disorders varied by large geographic region among Black older adults in the United States. Design and Methods Black adults aged 55 or older who had experienced racial/ethnic-specific discrimination were drawn from the National Surv...

Background: Despite growing efforts to facilitate advance care planning (ACP) to decrease health disparities in palliative care, low completion rates of advance directives (AD) have been consistently found among African Americans. Objective: The objective was to examine the feasibility of a multicomponent ACP intervention program that integrates...

Objectives: To describe correlates of measured systolic blood pressure (SBP) among community-dwelling older African American and White Medicare beneficiaries. Methods: Participants completed an in-home assessment and factors significantly correlated with SBP were tested using multivariable models. Results: Among the 958 participants (mean age=...

Health is a concern of every American. As a large portion of the US population ages (Giguere, Minneapolis–St. Paul Star Tribune, 2007; Kausler and Kausler, The graying of America: An encyclopedia of aging, health, mind, and behavior, 2001), the avoidance of illness and disease is increasingly viewed as both desirable and obtainable for the majority...

Objectives: This exploratory study examined the context and consequences of custodial grandparenting, along with attitudes and preferences regarding future planning among 22 African-American custodial grandmothers. Method: A mixed-method research design was employed. Based on our integration of two theories regarding future planning and health b...

A critical examination of the literature suggests that older African Americans are more likely to be diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and dementia. Assessment is complicated by potential differences in symptom presentation or reporting and a lack of assessment instruments validated for use with ethnically diverse older populations. Disparities i...

Nearly 35 million Americans are 65 years of age and over. Over the next 40 years, the number of people 65 and older is expected to double and the number of people 85 and older is expected to triple. Graduate training in professional psychology continues to be under pressure to respond to the growing number of older adults and their mental health ne...

We examined positive and negative religious coping as moderators of the relation between physical limitations, depression, and desire for hastened death among male inmates incarcerated primarily for murder. Inmates over the age of 45 years who passed a cognitive screening completed face-to-face interviews (N = 94; mean age = 57.7 years; SD = 10.68)...

Colorectal cancer screening has clear benefits in terms of mortality reduction; however, it is still underutilized and especially among medically underserved populations, including African Americans, who also suffer a disproportionate colorectal cancer burden. This study consisted of a theory-driven (health belief model) spiritually based intervent...

Colorectal cancer screening, while effective for reducing mortality, remains underutilized particularly among underserved populations such as African Americans. The present study evaluated a spiritually based approach to increasing Health Belief Model-based pre-screening outcomes in a Community Health Advisor-led intervention conducted in African A...

To examine relationships between spiritual health locus of control beliefs and various health behaviors. A cross-sectional survey of a national sample of African Americans assessed spiritual beliefs, fruit and vegetable consumption, physical activity, and alcohol consumption. Active spiritual beliefs were positively associated with fruit consumptio...

The present study examined the association between self-rated mental health (SRMH) and diagnoses of psychiatric disorders among Asian American adults. Data were drawn from the National Latino and Asian American Survey (NLAAS, 2002–2003). Bivariate correlations and logistic regression analyses were conducted to compare the association in three subgr...

Objective: The elderly population is increasing in rural communities yet many rural elders have fewer resources and poorer mental and physical health than their urban counterparts. Rural elders are at a higher risk for developing metabolic syndrome (MSX), a cluster of risk factors for cardiovascular disease, stroke, and mortality, which has been li...

To explore the implications of limited English proficiency (LEP) for disparities in health status and healthcare service use of older Latino and Asian immigrants. Cross-sectional analysis of existing secondary data. The 2007 California Health Interview Survey. Latino and Asian immigrants aged 60 and older (n=1,745) were divided into three language...

To identify racial/ethnic differences in retention of older adults at 3 levels of participation in a prospective observational study: telephone, in-home assessments, and home visits followed by blood draws. A prospective study of 1,000 community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 years and older included a baseline in-home assessment and telep...

Objective: The present study examined the relationship between spiritual health locus of control beliefs and health prevention and risk behaviors in a national sample of African American men and women. Method: 1,098 women and 531 men completed a telephone interview assessing their fruit and vegetable consumption, physical activity, adherence to can...

Assessment of social influence on health behavior is often approached through a situational context. The current study adapted an existing, theory-based instrument from another content domain to assess Perceived Social Influence on Health Behavior (PSI-HB) among African Americans, using an individual difference approach. The adapted instrument was...

This study investigated financial abilities of 154 patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) (116 white, 38 African American) using the Financial Capacity Instrument (FCI). In a series of linear regression models, we examined the effect of race on FCI performance and identified preliminary predictor variables that mediated observed racial diffe...

Many rural communities are experiencing an increase in their older adult population. Older adults who live in rural areas typically have fewer resources and poorer mental and physical health status than do their urban counterparts. Depression is the most prevalent mental health problem among older adults, and 80% of the cases are treatable. Unfortu...

This study describes the development of a spiritually based intervention to increase colorectal cancer screening through African American churches by framing the health message with spiritual themes and scripture. The intervention development phase consisted of ideas from an advisory panel and core content identified in focus groups. In the pilot-t...

The health disparities that negatively affect African Americans are well-documented; however, there are also many sociocultural factors that may play a protective role in health outcomes. Religious involvement is noted to be important in the African American community and to have a positive association with health outcomes. However, few studies hav...

Using protection motivation theory, we examined racial differences in intent to complete a living will, rational problem solving (e.g., information seeking), and maladaptive coping responses (i.e., wishful thinking) to a health crisis. Sixty healthy, older adults without living wills responded to written vignettes, including information about livin...

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer mortality in the United States. Significant racial disparities exist such that African Americans have higher incidence as well as mortality rates than all other racial/ethnic groups. One reason for the disparity is lower rates of screening among African Americans as compared to Whites. A numbe...

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer mortality in the United States. Significant racial disparities exist such that African Americans have higher incidence as well as mortality rates than all other racial/ethnic groups. A number of interventions have been proposed to address the underutilization of screening, including church-bas...

Caregiving has traditionally been addressed by psychology, sociology, and social work with very limited attention to population-based public health outcomes of caregiving. As a result of the increase in caregiving across generations and the psychosocial, economic, and health outcomes associated with caregiving we must address this phenomenon as an...

Stroke symptoms in the absence of recognized stroke are common, but potential associated dysfunctions have not been described. We assessed quality-of-life measures using the Physical and Mental Component Summary scores of the Short Form 12 (PCS-12 and MCS-12) in the REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) cohort. Differenc...

Vascular disorders that increase risk for stroke may be accompanied by decrements in cognitive functioning and by stroke symptoms in the absence of diagnosed stroke or transient ischemic attack. This study evaluates relationships among cognitive status, stroke symptom reports, and cardiovascular and behavioral factors. REasons for Geographic and Ra...

To examine the pattern of physician advice-giving to individuals with hypertension and to determine if advice-giving and adherence to advice vary by race. Frequency of physician recommendations and patient adherence to such advice were analyzed using data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted from 1988 to 1994. A...

Our country's rapidly growing older adult population represents the core business of health care; however, few nurses are adequately prepared to care for their unique needs. This is caused, in part, by the limited attention paid by nursing educators to incorporating basic gerontological nursing principles into undergraduate programs. During the las...

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After a history of mostly ambivalence and neglect, organization-focused research has shown a steadily growing interest in religiosity and spirituality over the past decade. While organizational scholars have been slower to incorporate religion and spirituality into their research, psychologists have progressed enough to have a well-developed specia...

Nearly half of women age 65 or older are widows and nearly 70% of these women live alone. Because older women are three times more likely than their male counterparts to be widowed, widowhood has been labeled a primarily female phenomenon. This review article has two aims: (a) to discuss the impact of widowhood on the lives of older women and (b) t...

The article presents social and health indicators of depression among custodial African American grandmothers. Using a cross-sectional design, a sample of 99 custodial African American grandmothers caring for one or more grandchildren was included in the analysis. The results indicated that approximately 20% of custodial African American grandmothe...

We explain a new concept, positive spirituality, and offer evidence that links positive spirituality with health; describe effective partnerships between health professionals and religious communities; and summarize the information as a basis for strengthening the existing successful aging model proposed by Rowe and Kahn. A missing component to Row...

Most of the rhetoric decrying the incorporation of basic and positive spiritual care into clinical practice is not based on reliable evidence. We briefly review the current evidence, which demonstrates that (a) there is frequently a positive association between positive spirituality and mental and physical health and well being, (b) most patients d...

Recent changes in gerontology have drawn attention to the role of spirituality among older adults. Demographic trends suggest that the number of African Americans over the age of 65 is increasing, with the largest shift to occur in persons 85 years of age and older. Given the paucity of information available regarding the relationship between spiri...

Current social and demographic changes have drawn attention to the relationship between grandparents and grandchildren. This research examined grandparents and grandparenting in a rural southern state. One hundred fifty-eight grandparents were interviewed by telephone regarding their roles and relationships with their grandchildren and others along...