Getting to know: American Indian elder health seeking in an under-funded healthcare system

SSM: Qualitative Research in Health

Elise Trott Jaramillo¹  Emily A. Haozous²  Cathleen E. Willging³ 

[1] Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, 851 University Blvd SE, Suite 101, Albuquerque, NM, 87106-4341, USA;Corresponding author.;Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, 851 University Blvd SE, Suite 101, Albuquerque, NM, 87106-4341, USA;

关键词: American Indian;    Native American;    Elder;    Aging;    Grounded theory;    Health behavior;   

DOI  :  

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

American Indian (AI) Elders are the heart of the community. Existing research explores links between specific health behaviors and social determinants of health, but there is little theory explaining patient behaviors in the context of the Indian Health Service (IHS) system of care. We drew from a multiyear mixed-methods participatory study of Elder healthcare experiences to identify the systemic, interpersonal, and historical factors in the IHS that impact their health-seeking behaviors. We conducted an interpretive grounded theory analysis guided by Indigenous methodologies to analyze interviews with 96 AI Elders from two Southwestern states. Our resulting theory, Getting to Know, explains how Elders knew, owned, accessed, and were denied information and resources in their efforts to receive care. Findings highlight how Elders’ health-seeking behaviors reflect longstanding inequities, the many ways Elder knowledge was incongruent with Western knowledge embedded in the IHS system, and how this conflict contributed to Elder discomfort in clinical settings. Future work will test the applicability of Getting to Know in other AI communities. By applying an Indigenous-centered analysis to the voices of Elders, we identified key influences on health outcomes not previously observed in the literature. In illuminating these influences, we show how healthcare can be better formulated to meet the needs of Elders, ultimately improving health for AI communities.

【 授权许可】

Unknown