Factors Affecting Older Women's Adherence to Medication and Treatment

Over the past 25 years, there has been a growing interest in why many patients do not take prescribed medications or fail to follow medical advice. As many as 50% of all patients fail to adhere adequately to therapeutic advice or engage in inappropriate use of prescribed medications. Additionally, there has been a struggle over how best to describe this variance between what medical practitioners recommend and what patients actually do. This article examines factors thought to affect women's adherence to medication and treatment regimens. Literature on age, comorbid conditions, socioeconomic factors, environmental factors, and perceived susceptibility for an illness is reviewed as are individual psychological idiosyncratic dynamics that may influence health care behaviors.     

Older Lesbians and Work in the Australian Health and Aged Care Sector

While research has identified challenges lesbians face in the workplace, there is limited understanding of the particular experiences of older lesbians, especially those working in the health and aged care sector. This article draws on the stories of four women who participated in a narrative research project on lesbian and gay people's experiences of health and aged care. It highlights the need for future research to examine the complexity of identity expression and community affiliation, how people negotiate “coming out” in the workplace, the impact of discrimination, and the resources (such as friends) available to lesbians in the workplace.     

Opting Back In: The Influence of Time at Home on Professional Women's Career Redirection after Opting Out

Limited research on professional women's labour force re‐entry after a career break (so‐called ‘opting out’) finds that women redirect away from former careers. Little is known about why this occurs. Our study, based on in‐depth interviews with 54 at‐home mothers, extends prior research to address this question. We find that among women who intended to return to work (who constitute the majority), most planned to pursue alternative careers, typically in traditionally female‐dominated professions or were uncertain about their career direction; few planned to return to their former employers. The reasons for this redirection were women's negative experiences in family inflexible occupations, skill depreciation and perceived age discrimination. Equally or more important, however, was their adaptation to new constraints and opportunities at home (such as increased involvement in mothering and community work), which engendered an aspirational shift towards new, care‐oriented professions that were lower paid and had lower status. We discuss the policy implications of these findings.     

Choices and Challenges: A Qualitative Exploration of Professional Women's Career Patterns

With the rapid changes occurring in the role of work in women's lives, this research project was designed to examine the career planning, career decision making, and work history of women in both female‐dominated and gender‐neutral careers (U.S. Department of Labor, n.d.‐a). A qualitative analysis of structured interviews identified 6 emerging themes: variations of career/family patterns, career encouragers, career obstacles, personal compromises, career changes, and career decision‐making patterns. Insights for strengthening the exploration process and strategies for supporting career management are presented based on the emerging themes.     

Intergenerational Relations: The Views of Older Jews and Arabs

The aim of the current qualitative study was to explore the perceptions of older Jews and Arabs on intergenerational family relations. Interviews were conducted with 20 men and women, 10 in each group, ages 65 and older. Five themes emerged from the analysis of the interviews: family is the major component of meaning of life; two dimensions of intergenerational relations: solidarity and ambivalence; intergenerational communication; filial expectations; and home and family as sources of honor and respect. Similarities and differences between the two groups were identified and explained, using modernization theory and cultural context.     

Parental Influence on Child Career Development in Mainland China: A Qualitative Study

Compared with adolescents and adults, there is little research that examines child career development and especially how parents might influence such development. This is especially true in Mainland China, where family life is highly valued. This study used interpretative phenomenological analysis to examine how Mainland Chinese parents influence the career development of their 5th‐grade children. Six superordinate themes were identified from both the children's and the parents' perspectives: responding to career curiosity, influence on career gender stereotypes, emphasizing the importance of education, encouraging independent career decision making, providing opportunities for career interest development, and mothers as career role models. Suggestions are offered for future career development learning programs and research.     

Career Pathways into Retirement in the UK: Linking Older Women's Pasts to the Present

Understanding of how women's experiences in retirement are shaped by their pre‐retirement lives is limited. In this paper we utilize an innovative mix of measures to examine the link between career histories and expectations and experiences of retirement. Analysis of timeline data capturing the long working lives of a sample of older women identifies five different pathways into retirement. We explore these trajectories in detail to determine how they are shaped and their links to different outcomes in later life. The analysis shows how different career histories unfold and how they shape expectations and experiences of retirement. Long, professional career pathways leave women feeling enabled in retirement, women following more fragmented pathways are more constrained, and some trajectories, including pathways involving transitions into professional careers in later life, can leave older women financially and emotionally vulnerable in older age.     

Women's Career Progression in Law Firms: Views from the Top,Views From Below

Law continues to be an attractive career path for women. Yet evidence shows that women's careers in law stagnate with proportionally small numbers of women progressing up the hierarchy from law graduate to partner. In this study we investigated how gendering and class processes impact on women's career progression. A major contribution is that we explored the heterogeneous views held by women below and above the partnership line, in Auckland's top law firms. Drawing on Acker's gendering processes (1990, 2006a) plus the accumulation of appropriate capitals needed to progress, we analysed 52 interview accounts. The women lawyers themselves were divided on how gendering and class processes impact on their career progression. Women partners accepted the hierarchical employment model of law and were confident in their role and place. Women below the partner line, while frustrated by the personal and professional requirements for success, did not demonstrate agency for change. In concluding, we reflect on the potential for change in the profession.     

How Older People Position Their Late‐Life Childlessness: A Qualitative Study

This research explored how older people describe their paths to late‐life childlessness. In‐depth accounts from 38 childless older people, age 63–93, highlight the complex journeys and diverse meanings of childlessness for male and female participants, single and partnered, including some who had outlived children. Positioning theory is used to show how the conventional voluntary – involuntary binary is insufficient for capturing their experiences. Childlessness was for some an active choice to break a family violence cycle; for others, it was an outcome of social upheaval. It evoked feelings of both grief and relief over time, it was seen as evidence of discernment in being unwilling to parent at any price, or it was something that felt “natural” within a meaningful life. Rates of childlessness are increasing; this research highlights the fact that pathways and meanings of childlessness vary so much that it is unwise to assume that people have similar experiences of nonparenthood, especially in later life.     

Understanding Gender and Power Dynamics Within the Family: A Qualitative Study of Nepali Women's Experience

Among the Maori of New Zealand, Aboriginals of Australia, and other Indigenous peoples, family dynamics strongly influence the ways that issues emerge in counseling. This study explores aspects of gender and power within the context of birth practices in rural Nepal. In‐depth interviews were conducted with 15 postpartum women, as well as family members, to collect narratives of birthing experiences that highlight issues of oppression, marginalisation, and power struggles. Implications for multicultural and social justice awareness in family therapy are discussed, especially with regard to the subtle, disguised ways that power operates behind the scenes, often sabotaging efforts by health and mental health professionals to bemost helpful.     

A New Genre of Social Protection Policy for Older People: A Critical Analysis of Legislative Development in Nepal

This commentary critically discusses recent legislation promulgated in Nepal to safeguard older people's rights and promote their well-being. Using a human-rights–based framework, the legislation is analyzed for its strengths and weaknesses. Emphasis has also been placed on discussing various aspects overlooked by the legislation, such as changing family structure, relations, and social values; the impact of employment structure and migration; and, importantly, maintaining a desired balance between the roles of the state and of the family in providing social security, support, and care to older people. Efforts have been made to reflect the promulgated law in light of the contemporary developments taking place globally, particularly in regions of Asia. Areas for future policy work are also identified in order to make legislation more inclusive and effective.     

Rebooting and Rerouting: Women's Articulations of Frayed Careers in Science,Engineering and Technology Professions

This paper expands on previous work about women's non‐linear and frayed careers by examining the experiences of women who have attempted to return to science, engineering and technology (SET) professions in the UK and Republic of Ireland after taking a career break. These women potentially offer an important perspective on gender and career, because of the deep‐rooted, gendered associations of science and technology with masculinity. Drawing on qualitative interviews with women SET professionals, the paper identifies three narratives — Rebooting, Rerouting and Retreating — which women use to talk about their careers. Some of these women present themselves as career changers, having often made compromises and trade‐offs, while others, who have returned to their substantive professions, focus on continuity in their career narratives. The precarious nature of their careers is also apparent and in some cases leads to opting out or retreating. The paper concludes by exploring how women's scientist and technical identities persist, even among those who had not returned to work, and are drawn on in narratives of return and career change.     

The Critical-Ecological Framework: Advancing Knowledge,Practice, and Policy on Older Adult Abuse

The abuse of older adults in our society is a recognized yet understudied issue compared to other forms of family violence. Within this article, research, theory, and practice in family violence and older adult abuse are compared; elements that can be transferred to the field are analyzed; and gaps are identified. An extensive literature review, two focus groups with local stakeholders, and interviews with six key informants recognized as national subject experts formed the basis of this analysis. The results informed the development of a critical-ecological model designed to address the gaps and advance the field.     

Employers' Experiences and Views of Grow Your Own Social Work Programmes: A Qualitative Interview Study

In the light of expressed support for Grow Your Own or employer sponsored schemes for social work training, this article explores why they are not so frequently adopted. It draws on findings from a multi-method study of GYO activities and outcomes in England, in particular interviews with 27 participants from 20 organisations employing social workers and funding GYO activity. These interviews revealed that GYO was seen as a means to recruit and retain new social workers, specifically to recruit workers who were able to start practice immediately and needed minimal support, but also to widen access to the profession and to demonstrate evidence of the employers' wider commitment to its non-qualified staff by providing a career pathway. Not all those interviewed were able to provide firm data as evidence of their belief in the value of GYO schemes. The article concludes that the reasons for the decline in GYO schemes lie in the sizeable investment required to develop and sustain them. It identifies some mismatch between the need for immediate solutions to workforce shortages and the longer-term investment in students and in workforce development staff who are necessary to reap the benefits of such schemes.     

Taking Older People's Rights Seriously: The Role of International Law

ABSTRACT

Older people face many difficult challenges that amount to a deplorable violation of their basic human rights (poverty, discrimination, denial of social services, etc.). However, the world has been slow to react. Factors that limit global responses to the challenges of aging include: limited political will, the prevalence of neo-liberalism, and NGOs' longstanding advocacy for other seemingly “more” disadvantaged groups. Such oppression of and discrimination against older people require a concerted world-wide response. We contend that the introduction of an international convention on the human rights of older people is most relevant. Reinforced by a potent international monitoring system, the convention should contain comprehensive and legally binding provisions that require participating states to promote older people's rights. It is argued that international law would be a powerful force in defending and protecting older persons, operating as a baseline for establishing underlying values for national aging policies and linking older persons' concerns with other segments of society.     

Beyond the Mommy Track: The Influence of New-Concept Part-Time Work for Professional Women on Work and Family

This study investigates how the option for new-concept part-time work influences the ability of mothers of preschool children working in professional occupations to successfully integrate work and family responsibilities while maintaining career opportunities. Data are from a subset of the 1996 IBM Work and Life Issues Survey in the United States (n = 687). Compared to their counterparts who worked full time, mothers who worked in these part-time positions reported significantly greater work-family balance and did not report significantly less career opportunity. The part-time group reported 47% fewer work hours and 41% lower income than the full-time group. These data support the notion that new-concept part-time work is a viable option to assist women in professional careers to successfully integrate their family career. Implications of these findings are presented.     

A Qualitative Analysis of College Women's Leaving Processes in Abusive Relationships

Abstract

Objective: This study assessed the process of leaving an abusive dating relationship utilizing a qualitative design. Methods: Participants included 123 college women in abusive dating relationships who participated at the beginning and end of a 10-week academic quarter. Results: Qualitative content analyses were used to analyze the transcribed responses to an open-ended question about women's leaving processes over the interim period. A variety of categories and themes emerged for women in different stages of the leaving process, consistent with the Transtheoretical Model of Change and Investment Model. Data also underscored women's lack of acknowledgment, minimization, and normalization of abuse. Conclusions: These data demonstrate the importance of dating violence intervention and prevention programming on college campuses and offer information that may be useful to college health providers who assist women in abusive dating relationships.     

More Than a Job Club,Sister: Career Intervention for Women Following Incarceration

Following incarceration, women face unique challenges in returning to their communities and seeking employment. This qualitative study used interpretative phenomenological analysis to explore the lived experiences of previously incarcerated women as they participated in It's More Than a Job Club, Sister, a spiritually integrated career intervention, and subsequently sought employment. The following 4 superordinate themes emerged describing this experience: (a) It was more than a job club; (b) God gave me a second chance: the impact of faith on recovery and employment; (c) barriers to employment; and (d) looking ahead. The findings indicate the need for a strengths‐based approach to career intervention that builds upon existing skills and emphasizes identity exploration, uncovering core beliefs and vocational values, bridging the gap between goals and barriers, and leveraging interpersonal skills. The findings also indicate that career counseling with female returning citizens is enhanced by incorporating attention to the role of substance abuse/recovery and by attending to the intersection of calling and vocation.     

Women's Perception of the Divorce Experience: A Qualitative Study

ABSTRACT

Divorce is a personal experience, often negative, and each couple experiences it differently. However, the divorce experience may provide opportunities for personal growth. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the challenges and growth opportunities women who have divorced experience from their own perspective. Ten women with similar backgrounds participated in personal interviews. Individual interviews revealed the following themes: (a) dating reflections, (b) married life, (c) self-perceptions, (d) support or lack of support, (e) family, (f) personal emotions, (g) personal growth, and (h) the future. Mezirow's (2000) Mezirow, J. 2000. Learning as transformation: Critical perspective on a theory in progress, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.  [Google Scholar] theory of transformational learning was the framework used to organize the findings to understand growth through transitional phases. This article presents the findings of this study and implications for women going through divorce.