FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH QUALITATIVE WELL-BEING IN OLDER WOMEN

Evaluation outcomes of health promotion are framed increasingly in ter ms of client well-being and quality of life. The goal of this research was to identify factors associated with personal well-being experienc e in community-dwelling older women. The aim of the present study was development of a regression model predictive of well-being. The method was secondary analysis of data from a recently completed study which had included 161 community-dwelling older women, aged 65 through 99, l iving within a 200-mile radius of a major midwestern city. Data had be en obtained through structured personal interviews including The Integ ration Inventory (II), a 37-item, validated Likert scale instrument, a s a measure of the dependent variable, qualitative well-being (Ruffing -Rahal, 1991a). Stepwise multiple regression analysis designated five significant variables with independent effects on well-being: (1) Numb er of Health Concerns: (2) Perceived Ability to Actively Practice One' s Religion; (3) Age; (4) Length of Residence at Present Address; (5) E ducation. With all five variables incorporated in the regression model , the R2 was .34. In addition, there was one significant 2-way interac tion, the relation between Number of Health Concerns and Length of Res idence at Present Address (p = .04). Findings highlight the interplay of personal and ecological factors, specifically, those of comorbidity , religiosity, and residence in relation to older women's everyday wel l-being experience. The implications for community-based gerontologic health programming consider: (1) interventions to sustain and enhance qualitative experience, i.e. well-being; (2) explicit integration of r eligion and spirituality into health promotion with targeted older pop ulations; (3) domestic environmental features including length of resi dence as integrally related to daily well-being.