Determinants of functional health of low-income black women with osteoarthritis

This study examines 10 culturally relevant indices of physical, psychological, and social function in order to specify and quantify their influence on the multidimensional functional health of low-income Black older women who have a medical diagnosis of osteoarthritis and no known history of coexisting medical conditions that would cause severe debilitation. Using a non-experimental, correlational design, cross-sectional data were obtained in individual face-to-face interviews. A nonprobability sample of 100 low-income, community-living Black older female participants of two local senior centers were interviewed for analysis. Functional health was measured with the Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales 2; physical function by body mass index, number of arthritic joints, and a timed 8-foot walk score; psychological function with scores for the Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire, Geriatric Depression Scale, and Spiritual Perspective Scale; and social function by the sociodemographics of age, income, years of education, and household size. Multiple regression analysis data indicated that functional health was best explained by three interrelated variables: depression, timed 8-foot walk score, and number of arthritic joints. This combination of variables explained 45% of the variance in functional health. Depression was highly correlated with other predictors and explained the largest amount of variance. Findings emphasize the need for enhanced education of providers to stimulate development of health promotion/disease prevention programs that will decrease the occurrence and effects of depression, joint pathology, and physical immobility, thereby improving health-related outcomes for Black older women who have osteoarthritis.