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Expanding the Disablement Process Model Among Older Mexican Americans

Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, Sealy Center on Aging, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston.

Address correspondence to M. Kristen Peek, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, University of Texas Medical Branch, 301 University Blvd., Route 1153, Galveston, TX 77555-1153. E-mail: mkpeek{at}utmb.edu

Background. Very few studies have examined how disability develops among older Mexican Americans. To determine how disability develops, we explored the Disablement Process model, which posits that impairment, measured by muscle strength, leads to functional limitations, which lead to disability, which ultimately is associated with health-related quality of life (HRQOL).

Methods. A structural equation model approach was used (AMOS 4) with data collected on 622 Mexican Americans aged 71 or older residing in the Southwest.

Results. Our results show preliminary support for the Disablement Process model. Impairment is significantly associated with functional limitation (ß =.36, z value = 7.2), which is significantly associated with disability (ß = –.53, z value = 16.1). Finally, disability is significantly related to both physical and mental components of HRQOL (ß = –.69, z value = 23.4; ß = –.26, z value = 6.5, respectively).

Conclusions. Muscle strength as a measure of impairment and the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) score as a measure of HRQOL are important factors in understanding disability in older Mexican Americans.