Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dsjbd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T07:04:00.678Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Method and Description of the Aging in Manitoba Project: A 20-Year Longitudinal Study*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2010

Judith G. Chipperfield
Affiliation:
University of Manitoba
Betty Havens
Affiliation:
University of Manitoba
Wendy D. Doig
Affiliation:
University of Manitoba

Abstract

The Aging in Manitoba (AIM) project includes nearly 9,000 seniors who have been interviewed. Three independent cross-sectional samples (i.e. 1971, 1976, 1983) were subsequently followed (1983–1984, 1990), producing cross-sectional and longitudinal data. A major goal of this paper was to examine non-response over time and representativeness of the panel of AIM survivors. This involved analysis of non-response, calculations of completion/response rates, and comparisons of demographic variables across the AIM sample and the broader Manitoba and Canadian populations. Non-response was very low (4.6% in 1983–1984, 5.0% in 1990) and did not appear to be dependent on such factors as location, gender, education level, or nationality descent. The 95.0 per cent completion rate compares favourably with other longitudinal studies, demonstrating the value of employing rigorous tracking procedures. These findings suggest that attempts to minimize bias and selective attrition in the AIM study have been successful.

Résumé

Le projet «Aging in Manitoba» (AIM) porte sur environ 9,000 personnes âgées qui ont été soumises à des interviews. Trois échantillons transversaux indépendants, notamment ceux de 1971, de 1976 et de 1983, ont fait par la suite l'objet d'un suivi en 1983–1984 et en 1990, démarche qui a permis de recueillir des données transversales et des données longitudinales. L'un des principaux objectifs du présent article était d'analyser la non-réponse dans le temps et la représentativité du panel de survivants. Pour ce faire, nous avons procédé à l'analyse de la non-réponse, au calcul des taux d'achèvement ou de celui du taux de réponse, ainsi qu'à la comparaison des variables démographiques au sein de l'échantillon du projet AIM, d'une part, et des populations manitobaine et canadienne, d'autre part. Le taux de non-réponse a été peu élevé (de 4,6% en 1983–1984 et de 5% en 1990) et ne semble pas dépendre de facteurs tels que le lieu de résidence, le sexe, le niveau d'instruction ou l'origine ethnique des répondants. Le taux d'achèvement de 95 pour cent se compare favorablement à celui qui a été obtenu dans d'autres études longitudinales, ce qui démontre la pertinence d'utiliser des méthodes rigoureuses de suivi. Ces résultats suggèrent que les efforts déployés pour réduire le biais et l'extinction sélective ont porté fruit.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 1997

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Baltes, P.B., Mayer, K.U., Helmchen, H., & Steinhagen, T.E. (1993). Berlin Aging Study (BASE): Overview and design. Ageing and Society, 13, 483515.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Black, C. (1995). Using existing data sets to study aging and the elderly: An introduction. Canadian Journal on Aging, 14(Supp. 1), 135150.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Black, C., Roos, N.P., Havens, B., & Mac Williams, L. (1996). Rising use of physician services by the elderly: The contribution of morbidity. Canadian Journal on Aging, 14(2), 225244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brooks-Gunn, J., Phelps, E., & Elder, G.H. (1991). Studying lives through time: Secondary data analyses in developmental psychology. Developmental Psychology, 27(6), 899910.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Call, V.R.A., Otto, L.B., & Spenner, K.I. (1982). Tracking respondents: A multi-method approach. Toronto: Heath Lexington Books.Google Scholar
Chappell, N.L. (1981). Measuring functional ability and chronic health conditions among the elderly: A research note on the adequacy of three instruments. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 22, 90102.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chipperfield, J.G. (1993a). Perceived barriers in coping with health problems: A twelve-year longitudinal study of survival among elderly individuals. Journal of Aging and Health, 5(1), 123139.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chipperfield, J.G. (1993b). Incongruence between health perceptions and health problems: Implications for survival among seniors. Journal of Aging and Health, 5, 475496.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chipperfield, J.G. (1996). Perceived adequacy of instrumental assistance: Implications for well-being in later life. Journal of Aging and Health, 8, 7295.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chipperfield, J.G., & Havens, B. (1992). A longitudinal analysis of perceived respect among elders: Changing perceptions for some ethnic groups. Canadian Journal on Aging, 11(1), 1530.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohen, S., Kamarck, T., & Mermelstein, R. (1983). A global measure of perceived stress. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 24, 385396.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Eckland, B.K. (1968). Retrieving mobile cases in longitudinal surveys. Public Opinion Quarterly, 32, 5164.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Forbes, W.F., McPherson, B.D., & Shadbolt-Forbes, M.A. (1989). The validation of longitudinal studies: The case of the Ontario Longitudinal Study of Aging (LSA). Canadian Journal on Aging, 5(1), 5167.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fozard, J.L., Metter, E.J., & Brant, L.J. (1990). Next steps in describing aging and disease in longitudinal studies. Journal of Gerontology, 45, P116–P127.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fozard, J.L., Vercruyssen, M., Reynolds, S.L., Hancock, P.A., & Quiler, R.E. (1994). Age differences and changes in reaction time: The Baltimore longitudinal study of aging. Journals of Gerontology, 49(4), P179–P189.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Freedman, D.A., Thornton, A., & Camburn, D. (1980). Mamtaining response rates in longitudinal studies. Sociological Methods and Research, 3, 130135.Google Scholar
Frohlich, N., Markesteyn, T., Roos, N.P., Carriere, K.C., Black, C., DeCoster, C., Burchili, C., & Mac William, L. (1994). A report on the health status, socio-economic risk and health care use of the Manitoba population 1992–93 and overview of the 1990–91 to 1992–93 findings. Winnipeg, MB: Manitoba Centre for Health Policy and Evaluation.Google Scholar
Garfein, A.J., & Herzog, A.R. (1995). Robust aging among the young-old, old-old, and oldest-old. Journals of Gerontology, 505(2), S77–S87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goudy, W.J. (1985). Sample attrition and multivariate analyses in the Retirement History Study. Journal of Gerontology, 40, 358367.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hall, M. (1997). Annotated bibliography of the aging in Manitoba studies. Winnipeg, MB: Aging in Manitoba Project.Google Scholar
Havens, B. (1995). Aging in Manitoba: Integrating survey and administrative data. Paper presented at the Sixth Conference on Health Survey Research Methods. Breckenridge, CO.Google Scholar
Havens, B. (1996). Aging in Manitoba: Integrating survey and administrative data. In Warnecke, R.B. (Ed.), Health survey research methods: Conference Proceedings ( pp. 197202). Hyattsville, MD: U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services.Google Scholar
Hull, E., Roos, N.P., Havens, B., & Mossey, J.M. (1979). An analytic comparison of the 1971 and 1976 studies of Aging in Manitoba: Needs and resources. (Health and Welfare Canada #1216–6–918). Winnipeg: Manitoba Department of Health and Community Services.Google Scholar
Katz, S., Ford, A.B., Moskowitz, R.W., Jackson, B.A., & Jaffe, M.W. (1963). Studies of illness in the aged. The index of ADL: A standardized measure of biological and psychosocial function. Journal of the American Medical Association, 185, 914919.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lawton, M.P., & Brody, E.M. (1969). Assessment of older people: Self-maintaining and instrumental activities of daily living. The Gerontologist, 9, 179186.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lefcourt, H.M., Von Baeyer, C.L., Ware, E.E., & Cox, D.J. (1979). The multidimen-sional-multiattributional causality scale: The development of a goal specific locus of control scale. Canadian Journal of Behaviourial Science, 11, 286304.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Manitoba Department of Health and Social Development. (1973). Aging in Manitoba: Needs and resources, 1971 (Vol. 1). Winnipeg: Department of Health and Social Development.Google Scholar
Manitoba Health Services Commission. (1990). Population of Manitoba by health regions: Volume 5 regional summaries by age and sex. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba, Management Information Systems.Google Scholar
Manton, K. (1982). Changing concepts of morbidity and mortality in the elderly population. Milbank Memorial Fund Quarterly, 2, 183245.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Markides, K.S., Timbers, D.M., & Osberg, J.S. (1984). Aging and health: A longitudinal study. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 3, 3349.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Marshall, V. (1992). Response rates and related survey design issues in gerontological research. Paper presented at the Ontario Gerontology Association Meeting.Google Scholar
McCall, R.B., & Appelbaum, M.I. (1991). Some issues of conducting secondary analyses. Developmental Psychology, 27(6), 911917.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Menee, V.H., & Chipperfield, J.C. (1997). Remaining Active in Later Life: The role of locus of control in seniors' leisure activity participation, health, and life satisfaction. Journal of Aging and Health, 9, 105125.Google Scholar
Mossey, J.M., Havens, B., Roos, N.P., & Shapiro, E. (1981). The Manitoba longitudinal study on aging: Description and methods. The Gerontologist, 21(5), 551558.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mossey, J.M., & Shapiro, E. (1982). Self-rated health: A predictor of mortality among the elderly. American Journal of Public Health, 72(8), 800808.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Neugarten, B.L., Havighurst, R.J., & Tobin, S. (1961). The measurement of life satisfaction. Journal of Gerontology, 16, 134143.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Norris, F.J. (1985). Characteristics of older non-respondents over five waves of a panel study. Journal of Gerontology, 40, 627636.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peterson, L. (1996). Establishing the study of development as a dynamic force in health psychology. Health Psychology, 15, 155157.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pifer, A., & Bronte, L. (Eds.). (1986). Our aging society: Paradox and promise. New York: W.W. Norton.Google Scholar
Post, J.A. (1996). Internet resources on Aging: Seniors on the Net. The Gerontologist, 36, 565569.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Province of Manitoba, Department of Health. (1990). Aging in Manitoba: 1983 Volume 1-V11. Winnipeg: Province of Manitoba.Google Scholar
Roos, L. Jr, Nicol, J.P., & Cageorge, S.M. (1987). Using administrative data for longitudinal research: Comparisons with primary data collection. Journal of Chronic Diseases, 40, 41S–49S.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roos, L.L., Nicol, J.P., Johnson, C., & Roos, N.P. (1979). Using administrative data banks for research and evaluation: A case study. Evaluation Quarterly, 3, 236255.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roos, L.L., Roos, N.P., Cageorge, S.M., & Nicol, J.P. (1982). How good are the data? reliability of one health care data bank. Medical Care, 20, 266276.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roos, L.L., Roos, N.P., Fisher, E.S., & Bubolz, T.A. (1989). Strengths and weaknesses of health insurance data systems for assessing outcomes. Presented at the Conference on “Improving the Translation of Research Findings into Clinical Practice.” National Institute of Medicine, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Roos, N.P., & Havens, B. (1991). Predictors of successful aging: A twelve year study of Manitoba elderly. American Journal of Public Health, 81, 6368.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roos, N.P., Havens, B., & Black, C. (1993). Living longer but doing worse: Assessing health status in elderly persons at two points in time in Manitoba, Canada 1971 and 1983. Social Science and Medicine, 36, 273282.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roos, N.P., Roos, L.L., Mossey, J.M., & Havens, B. (1988). Using administrative data to predict important health outcomes: Entry to hospital, nursing home and death. Medical Care, 26, 221239.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roos, N.P., & Shapiro, E. (1981). The Manitoba longitudinal study on aging: Preliminary findings on health care utilization by the elderly. Medical Care, 19, 644657.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roos, N.P., Shapiro, E., & Havens, B. (1987). Aging with limited resources: What should we really be worried about? In Aging with Limited Resources (pp. 5058). Ottawa: Canadian Government Publishing Centre.Google Scholar
Shanas, E. (1962). The health of older people. Cambridge: Havard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shapiro, E. (1988). The relevance of epidemiological research on aging to policy making and planning: Evidence from the Manitoba Longitudinal Study of Aging. In Brody, J.A. & Maddox, G.L. (Eds.) Epidemiology and Aging: An International Perspective (pp. 167176). New York: Springer Publishing Co.Google Scholar
Shapiro, E. (1991). Manitoba health care studies & their policy implication. Winnipeg: Manitoba Centre of Health Policy and Evaluation.Google Scholar
Shapiro, E., & Tate, R.B. (1989). Is health care use changing? A comparison between physician, hospital, nursing home, and home-care use of two elderly cohorts. Medical Care, 27, 10021014.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Statistics Canada. (1992). Age, sex, and marital status. (1991 Census of Canada catalogue number 93–310). Ottawa, ON: Minister of Supply and Services Canada.Google Scholar
Struthers, C.W., Chipperfield, J.G., & Perry, R.P. (1993). Perceived health barriers and health value in seniors: Implications for well being and mortality. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 23, 16191637.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Suzman, R.M., Willis, D.P., & Manton, K.G. (Eds.). (1992). The oldest old. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taeuber, C.M., & Rowenwaike, I. (1992). A demographic portrait of America's oldest old. In Suzman, R.M., Willis, D.P., & Manton, K.G. (Eds.), The oldest old. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Tennstedt, S.L., Dettling, U., & McKinlay, J.B. (1992). Refusal rates in a longitudinal study of older people: Implications for field methods. Journal of Gerontology, 47, S313–S318.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wallston, K.A., Maides, S.A., & Wallston, B.S. (1976). Health-related information seeking as a function of health-related locus of control and health value. Journal of Research in Personality, 10, 215222.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolinsky, F.D., Arnold, C.L., & Nallapati, I.V. (1988). Explaining the declining rate of physician utilization among the oldest-old. Medical Care, 26(6), 544553.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zarit, S.H., Johansson, B., & Malmberg, B. (1995). Changes in functional competency in the oldest old: A longitudinal study. Journal of Aging and Health, 7(1), 323.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed