Older women and their images of health: A replication study

Abstract

Older women view themselves as healthy despite the fact that they suffer from chronic illnesses and some functional limitations. The study presented in this article replicates the work of Woods and associates by asking, "What does being healthy mean to you?" to a sample of 10 older women aged 70 to 91 years. The images presented by older women were remarkably consistent with the images presented by the younger cohort. As found in the original Woods et al study, there were nine dimensions that were reflective of the eudaemonistic model of health.