Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (Hispanic EPESE), Waves I-IV, 1993-2001

Investigators: Kyriakos S. Markides & Laura A. Ray

The Hispanic EPESE is a longitudinal study aimed at obtaining a representative sample of community-dwelling Mexican American elderly residing in the five Southwestern states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and California. The primary purpose of the study was to provide estimates of the prevalence of key physical health conditions, mental health conditions, and functional impairments in older Mexican Americans and compare this prevalence with that in other populations. Trained interviewers collected data on major chronic conditions, functional disabilities, mental health, family relations, migration history, access to health services, and related variables through personal household interviews with the subjects. The baseline interviews were conducted in 1993 and 1994; follow-up interviews of the same subjects were conducted at two (1995-1996), five (1998-1999), seven (2000-2001) and ten (2004-2005) years. In addition, the investigators wanted to study predictors and correlates of these health outcomes cross-sectionally. A two- year follow-up was requested in order to examine predictors of mortality, changes in health outcomes, institutionalization and other changes in living arrangements, and changes in life situations and quality of life.

Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly, Waves I-IV, 1993-2001

Investigators: Preventive Medicine and Community Health

The Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly (Hispanic EPESE) project collected data on a representative sample of community-dwelling Mexican-Americans, aged 65 years and older, residing in the five southwestern states of Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. The primary purpose of the study was to provide estimates of the prevalence of key physical health conditions, mental health conditions, and functional impairments in older Mexican Americans and compare them to those in other populations. In addition, the investigators wanted to study predictors and correlates of the health outcomes cross-sectionally. Baseline interviews were conducted in 1993 and 1994 with 3,050 subjects. Follow-up interviews of the same subjects were conducted at two (1995-1996), five (1998-1999), seven (2000-2001) and ten (2004-2005) years. Prior to the start of the ten-year follow-up, another 1,000 subjects aged 75 or older were added to the sample. Data were collected on major chronic conditions, functional disabilities, mental health, family relations, migration history, access to health services, and related variables through personal household interviews with the subjects.

Longitudinal Retirement History Study 1969-1979; Earnings Summary

Investigators: United States Social Security Administration Office of Research and Statistics

The Longitudinal Retirement History Study (LRHS) is a ten-year investigation of the retirement process conducted by the Office of Research and Statistics of the Social Security Administration. Six waves of data were collected from a national sample of 11,153 persons aged 58 to 63. Baseline data were collected in 1969; follow-up surveys were administered at two-year intervals in 1971, 1973, 1975, 1977, and 1979. The primary focus of this study was to assess Social Security program provisions for retired workers. A broad range of information was collected from participants and their spouses; topic areas studied include health, living arrangements, financial resources and assets, expenditures, retirement plans and attitudes, and characteristics of work lives. This dataset also includes income information from the Summary of Social Security Earnings for sample persons and spouses for the years 1951 through 1974. Widows and widowers of sample persons were extensively surveyed in the 1975 through 1979 waves of data collection.

Longitudinal Study of Aging 70 Years and Over 1984-1987; 1988; 1990

Investigators: National Center for Health Statistics

The Longitudinal Study of Aging (LSOA), conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) in collaboration with the National Institute on Aging (NIA), was designed to provide needed information on those factors implicated in the physical dysfunction and institutionalization of older persons in the United States. The study focuses on measuring changes in living arrangements and functional status experienced by the elderly in order to examine the path from health to functional disability to institutionalization and death. Its objectives include: (1) to study changes in functional status and living arrangements with the hope of recognizing potential points for intervention to prevent institutionalization and provide alternative forms of care to extremely elderly people, and (2) to study length of life and death rates by characteristics of the population that are not reported on death certificates, such as education, whether living alone or with others, frequency of contact with family or friends, and other characteristics. Four waves of data were collected. Baseline data were obtained in 1984 from 16,148 persons aged 55 and over as part of the Supplement on Aging (SOA) to the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Follow-up questionnaires were administered in 1986, 1988, and 1990 to 7,527 persons, 70 years of age and older at the time they participated in the SOA.

National Long Term Care Survey: 1982, 1984, 1989

Investigators: Center for Demographic Studies United States Department of Health and Human Services Health Care Financing Administration

The National Long Term Care Survey is a longitudinal study designed to provide information about the population of chronically disabled elderly persons in the United States. It was the first major nationally representative survey that dealt explicitly with the health and functional problems of the disabled elderly who live in the community, the formal and informal home long term care options available to meet the problems of the impaired elderly, and the ability to interchange home and institutional services for a specific population. The first three waves of interviews (1982, 1984, and 1989) were conducted with nationally representative sample of 30,308 persons age 65 or over who reported having a chronic functional impairment, defined as being unable to perform an activity of daily living (ADL) or an instrumental activity of daily living (IADL) for three months or more. Data were collected on a number of topics including cognitive ability, medical conditions, problems and help received for ADLs and IADLs, housing, health insurance, medical providers, income and assets, and personal characteristics. In addition, the 1989 wave collected extensive data from informal caregivers, unpaid caregivers who help the sample person with ADL or IADL activities. Topics covered in the survey of informal caregivers included demographic and social characteristics of the caregiver, the relationship between the caregiver and the impaired person, the kinds of care provided, expense and time costs to the caregiver, inconveniences and problems of the caregiver, work restrictions due to caregiving, and the caregivers feeling about caregiving.

National Survey of Self-Care and Aging (NSSCA), 1990-1994

Investigators: Gordon H. DeFriese, Jean E. Kincade Norburn

The National Survey of Self-Care and Aging (NSSCA) is a population-based, national longitudinal survey of noninstitutionalized Medicare beneficiaries. It employed a multistage stratified random sample design to represent the population of Medicare beneficiaries in the contiguous United States who were not institutionalized (residing in a nursing home, rest home, or other full-care facility) and who were at least 65 years of age in 1990. The survey was conducted in two waves. The baseline survey was an in-person survey and was conducted between 1990 and 1991. The follow-up survey was a telephone survey and was conducted in 1994. The objective of the baseline survey was to develop a national database on self-care behaviors practiced by noninstitutional elderly adults. The objective of the followup survey was to continue examination of the health status and self-care practices of individuals who were interviewed at baseline. Data from the baseline survey and follow-up survey have been merged into one dataset. The resulting dataset contains 1,234 variables collected from 3,485 respondents.

National Survey of Self-Care and Aging, 1990-1994

Investigators: Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research

The National Survey of Self-Care and Aging (NSSCA) is a population-based, national longitudinal survey of noninstitutionalized Medicare beneficiaries. It employed a multistage stratified random sample design to represent the population of noninstitutionalized U.S. Medicare beneficiaries at least 65 years of age in 1990. The objective of the baseline survey, conducted between 1990 and 1991, was to develop a national database on self-care behaviors practiced by noninstitutional elderly adults. A follow-up survey was conducted in 1994, to continue examination of the health status and self-care practices of individuals who were interviewed at baseline.

National Survey of the Japanese Elderly: Wave 1, 1987

Investigators: Institute of Gerontology Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology

The National Survey of the Japanese Elderly (NSJE) is a longitudinal study conducted in Japan by the Institute of Gerontology at the University of Michigan (IoG) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology (TMIG). The first wave of the study was conducted in 1987 and collected data on a nationally representative sample of non- institutionalized Japanese aged 60 years and older. Subsequent Waves 2, 3, and 4 have followed in 1990, 1993, 1996 respectively. The original Wave 1 survey was designed to create a panel dataset for use in cross-cultural analyses of aging in Japan and the United States. The subsequent waves were created to match Wave 1 as closely as possible, while also allowing for growth in specific areas of interest. In addition, the surveys were designed to be partially comparable in content with Americans' Changing Lives: Waves 1, 2, 3, and 4, 1986, 1989, 1994, and 1996 and the National Health Interview Survey, 1984: Supplement on Aging. The survey has nine sections: demographics (age, gender, marital status, education, employment), social integration (interpersonal contacts, social supports), health status (limitations on daily life and activities, health conditions, level of physical activity), subjective well-being and mental health status (life satisfaction, morale), psychological indicators (life events, locus of control, self-esteem), financial situation (financial status), memory (measures of cognitive functioning), and interviewer observations (assessments of respondents).

National Survey of the Japanese Elderly: Wave 2, 1990

Investigators: Institute of Gerontology Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology

The National Survey of the Japanese Elderly (NSJE) is a longitudinal study conducted in Japan by the Institute of Gerontology at the University of Michigan (IoG) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology (TMIG). The first wave of the study was conducted in 1987 and collected data on a nationally representative sample of non- institutionalized Japanese aged 60 years and older. Subsequent Waves 2, 3, and 4 have followed in 1990, 1993, 1996 respectively. The original Wave 1 survey was designed to create a panel dataset for use in cross-cultural analyses of aging in Japan and the United States. The subsequent waves were created to match Wave 1 as closely as possible, while also allowing for growth in specific areas of interest. In addition, the surveys were designed to be partially comparable in content with Americans' Changing Lives: Waves 1, 2, 3, and 4, 1986, 1989, 1994, and 1996 and the National Health Interview Survey, 1984: Supplement on Aging. The survey has nine sections: demographics (age, gender, marital status, education, employment), social integration (interpersonal contacts, social supports), health status (limitations on daily life and activities, health conditions, level of physical activity), subjective well-being and mental health status (life satisfaction, morale), psychological indicators (life events, locus of control, self-esteem), financial situation (financial status), memory (measures of cognitive functioning), and interviewer observations (assessments of respondents).

National Survey of the Japanese Elderly: Wave 3, 1993

Investigators: Institute of Gerontology Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology

The National Survey of the Japanese Elderly (NSJE) is a longitudinal study conducted in Japan by the Institute of Gerontology at the University of Michigan (IoG) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology (TMIG). The first wave of the study was conducted in 1987 and collected data on a nationally representative sample of non- institutionalized Japanese aged 60 years and older. Subsequent Waves 2, 3, and 4 have followed in 1990, 1993, 1996 respectively. The original Wave 1 survey was designed to create a panel dataset for use in cross-cultural analyses of aging in Japan and the United States. The subsequent waves were created to match Wave 1 as closely as possible, while also allowing for growth in specific areas of interest. In addition, the surveys were designed to be partially comparable in content with Americans' Changing Lives: Waves 1, 2, 3, and 4, 1986, 1989, 1994, and 1996 and the National Health Interview Survey, 1984: Supplement on Aging. The survey has nine sections: demographics (age, gender, marital status, education, employment), social integration (interpersonal contacts, social supports), health status (limitations on daily life and activities, health conditions, level of physical activity), subjective well-being and mental health status (life satisfaction, morale), psychological indicators (life events, locus of control, self-esteem), financial situation (financial status), memory (measures of cognitive functioning), and interviewer observations (assessments of respondents).