Development and validation of a life satisfaction scale for Chinese elders.

This study reports the development and validation of a culturally sensitive, domain-specific measure of life satisfaction for Chinese Elders--The Life Satisfaction Scale--Chinese (LSS-C). The LSS-C was administered to 1,502 randomly-selected older Chinese persons in three newly developed towns in Mainland China. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a conceptually meaningful two-factor model-one of instrumental needs of daily life and one of social and relational needs. Criterion-related validity was satisfactory when positively correlated with a single-item global life satisfaction measure and the Life Satisfaction Index A, and negatively correlated with the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. The reliability of the eight-item scale was satisfactory, with the internal consistency coefficient equal to .78 and the split half coefficient equal to .81. LSS-C was direct and easy to administer, and it is recommended for use on Chinese elders.

Survey on death and dying in Hong Kong: attitudes, beliefs, and preferred end-of-life care.

Social Workers in end-of-life and palliative care have a particular opportunity to ease the dying process by providing culturally appropriate services to the dying and their families. In today's multicultural social environment, with an ever-increasing immigrant population, social workers are challenged to be knowledgeable about diverse cultures. Recently, a forum of health care professionals and social workers in Hong Kong conducted a survey of the general population to assess death and dying attitudes, beliefs, and preferences for end-of-life care. Four-hundred-thirty Hong Kong Chinese participated in a telephone interview. Responses were compared by gender. The survey results not only contribute to an understanding of Hong Kong Chinese, but can inform social workers who practice with Chinese immigrants to the United States.

Changing cultural and social environments: implications for older East Asian women.

The world is aging and the trend is towards a global feminization of aging. In the Asia Pacific region, which already contains approximately 50% of the world's population over age 60, the number of older women exceeds that of older men in most countries. This article explores the changes that are occurring in East Asian social and cultural traditions for aging and discusses the implications of those changes for women who aged in that culture. In the traditional culture, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean families are influenced by values of family centrality and collective orientation to life that are mostly rooted in Confucian values and ethics. In those traditions, older women assume and maintain a valued status within the family and community through respected roles and productive contributions. However, various factors, such as migration to urban areas and demographic shifts, have precipitated modernization of these societies and alterations of traditional culture. These cultural shifts are relevant to the United States where, according to the 2000 U.S. Census, 71.0% of Asian and Pacific Islander-Americans over the age 65 are foreign-born. Immigration can prompt an immediate cultural shift and create a fast forward insight into the slower cultural evolution currently occurring in East Asian societies.

Social work's partnership in community-based stroke prevention for older adults: a collaborative model.

Stroke prevention includes public education and community- based screenings to identify stroke risks. Even though more than half of all strokes are preventable, the incidence has increased in recent years and remains the leading cause of adult disability. Age is highly associated with stroke and twice as likely to occur with each decade after age 55. Risks fall into one of two categories. One category, such as obesity and high blood pressure, are controllable through behavior change and/or preventive medical care. The other category of risks, such as age or race, are not controllable. Stroke risks tend to occur in multiples that interact to heighten individual effects, thus, interdisciplinary methods to identify and reduce risk may be required. Social workers can play a key role in these partnerships. Social work's skills base in gerontology, psychosocial interventions, and empowerment through community organization are ideal for early intervention and behavior change. This article describes a collaborative community-based model for screening older adults for stroke risk and lessons learned from a three-month risk reduction follow-up.