S. Sudha

My research interests focus on adults and older persons. I examine how the familial and societal contexts influence health and well being over the life course. I look at ethnic differences in health issues in the US and gender differences in health care use and health outcomes in India.

There are 34 included publications by S. Sudha :

TitleDateViewsBrief Description
¿Qué te parece?: Pre-testing an HIV Testing Enablers Diagnostic Tool among Hispanic/ Latino Immigrant Women 2015 100 This article describes the procedures used to determine the conceptual adequacy and cultural appropriateness of a newly developed HIV Testing Enablers Assessment (H-TEA) instrument to be used with underserved Hispanic/Latino immigrant women. The aim ...
Advance Care Planning Engagement Among Muslim Community-Dwelling Adults Living in The United States of America 2021 162 Advance care planning (ACP) is a cornerstone of self-determination for the type of care provided at the end of life. Despite many national efforts to improve American adults' engagement in ACP, statistics indicate low engagement. Low engagement, espe...
Attitudes of the critically ill towards prolonging life: The role of social support 1997 94 Desires to prolong life were investigated in a hospitalized sample of 212 persons over age 50 whose illnesses were severe and who had an average life expectancy of six to twelve months. The importance of social support was emphasized in defining the ...
Childbearing History and Self-Reported Well-Being in Later Life 2006 1980 The authors examined how numbers of live births and pregnancy losses affected the self-rated health and depressive symptoms of women aged 50 years and older, contrasting African Americans and Whites. The authors used data from Atherosclerosis Risk in...
Cultural adaptation resources for nutrition and health in new immigrants in Central North Carolina. 2007 3262 This paper presents results of a study that was conducted for the purposes of describing available human services resources relating to nutrition, physical health, and behavioral health for new and recent immigrants (predominantly Mexican immigrants,...
Elder-proxy agreement concerning the elder’s functional status and medical history: The impact of caregiver burden and depressive symptomatology 1998 110 OBJECTIVES: To examine the influence of caregiver burden and depressive symptomatology on elder-proxy response concordance regarding the older person's functional status and medical history. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study via telephone interviews. SET...
En sus proprias palabras (in their own words): Eliciting Latina women’s perspectives on enablers of HIV testing using freelisting 2016 100 Objective: Comprehensive information on the facilitators of HIV testing in Latino women (Latinas) in the Southeastern USA is lacking. Efforts to rectify this should include Latina perspectives on the issue. This study aimed to (1) solicit Latina pers...
End of life care for older Russian immigrants - perspectives of Russian immigrants and Hospice staff 2018 266 This pilot study examined immigrant Russian seniors and adult children’s views on end-of-life care, and hospice staff members’ experiences providing care to diverse immigrant clients, in areas of North Carolina with a high proportion of immigrants. D...
Enhancing gerontology interest among MPH students: Is adding aging to international service learning effective? 2016 131 With the proportions and numbers of older adults increasing rapidly in the United States and worldwide, there is acute need for professionals with “gero-competency” and “gero-interest” in the spectrum of health and human service fields. We examine wh...
Ethnic and racial groups, similar or different, and how do we measure? 2000 117 During the twentieth century, we were excited by the increase in life expectancy, which grew from 47 years in the early 1900s to 76.5 years in 1997 (Kramarow et al. 1999). Now, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, the excitement of longer li...
Ethnicity and eldercare: Comparison of attitudes toward adult care homes and care by families 1999 145 This study examines attitudes toward rest homes among elderly African Americans and Whites and their caregivers. Dislike of rest homes, preference for family care, and unwillingness to consider rest home placement are analyzed by linear structural eq...
Ethnicity, gender and depression in older workers 1998 116 We used data from a prospective investigation of full-time workers aged 58 to 64 years and residing in a North Carolina metropolitan area at baseline to examine a causal model for depressive symptomatology among White men, White women, African Americ...
‘Exploring the limit: How far is too far?’: Raising awareness of sexual violence among South Asian immigrants in the United States 2014 242 Kiran Inc, a non-profit in North Carolina providing crisis services to South Asian immigrants, conducted an event in 2014 to raise sexual violence awareness. Volunteers wrote and acted five short plays; a panel of experts facilitated discussion. The ...
Family size, sex composition and children's education: Ethnic differentials over development in Peninsular Malaysia 1997 476 It is widely accepted that high fertility and the associated factors of large family size and short spacing between offspring are detrimental not only to development but also to the well-being of individual children, particularly in developing region...
Family-building Strategies in Urban India: Converging Demographic Trends in Two Culturally Distinct Communities 2009 1150 This article examines desired family size and sex composition, the extent of son preference, the underlying motivations for the preference, and the knowledge and use of the new reproductive technologies to achieve these preferences in two culturally ...
Female demographic disadvantage in India 1981-1991: Sex-selective abortion and female infanticide 1999 251 Using evidence from a number of sources (including the 1981 and 1991 censuses of India, prior research, and NGO reports), this article examines whether bias against girl children persists during periods of development and fertility decline, whether p...
Fertility decline and worsening gender bias in India: Is Kerala no longer an exception? 2000 179 In this brief note, we examine the notion that Kerala state in Southern India remains a (comparative) bastion of female equality, as evidenced by ‘normal’ sex ratios at birth and by child survival while fertility declines. Recent studies show that mu...
Fostering Inclusion through an Inter-institutional, Community-engaged, Course- based Undergraduate Research Experience 2020 126 Creation of an inclusive environment requires a culture of equity, justice, value and respect for diverse backgrounds, and opportunities for students to engage with communities while addressing issues in science and society. These tasks are particula...
Intergenerational Family Support for Older Men and Women in South India 2004 1566 This study examines the pattern of intergenerational familial support among older men and women in South India, indicated by older persons’ residence with children vs. with their spouse only or alone, and by any report of receiving financial support ...
Intergenerational Relations and Elder Care Preferences of Asian Indians in North Carolina 2013 2135 The US older population is growing in ethnic diversity. Persistent ethnic disparities in service use among seniors are linked to structural barriers to access, and also to family processes such as cultural preferences and intergenerational relations....
Marital Status, Family Ties, and Self-rated Health Among Elders In South India 2007 3061 This article examines the impact of familial social support ties (indicated by marital status, kin availability, sources of economic support, and frequency and quality of emotional interaction) on subjective health perception among a sample of elderl...
Marital violence and women’s reproductive health care in Uttar Pradesh, India 2011 446 Objective: Although the impact of marital violence on women’s reproductive health is recognized globally, there is little research on how women’s experience of and justification of marital violence in developing country settings is linked to sexually...
Needs assessment of older adults in two refugee communities in Greensboro: A detailed report 2021 379 This report documents needs of refugee older adults in the Greensboro metropolitan area of North Carolina, as exemplified by two communities: Nepali-speaking Bhutanese and Congolese. We describe the demographics of refugee populations in North Caroli...
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: Evaluation of the ARTmail Senior Art Project Among Seniors with Cognitive Limitations in North Carolina 2013 349 Participating in structured art programs is said to improve physical and mental health and social functioning of older adults including those with dementia. However, research on this subject is fairly new, and awareness of these programs is limited....
Population in its social context 1994 84 If population is conceptualized as the human vehicle of society, presumably analysis of one should involve understanding the other. However, population studies is not conventionally considered a central area of sociological inquiry, though demography...
The public health impact of Alzheimer's disease, 2000-2050: Potential implication of treatment advances 2002 1223 Recent developments in basic research suggest that therapeutic breakthroughs may occur in Alzheimer's disease treatment over the coming decades. To model the potential magnitude and nature of the effect of these advances, historical data from congest...
Race and ethnicity, nativity, and issues of health care 2001 482 “Age and Health in a Multiethnic Society: Health Care Issues” highlights two very important social facts of the early twenty-first century. U.S. immigration is at new highs, paralleling the influx of persons at the beginning of the century and contri...
Review of the book Women at the center: Life in a modern matriarchy 2004 3884 Review of the book Women at the center: Life in a modern matriarchy by Peggy Reeves Sanday.
Satisfaction with care among elderly African American and White residents of adult care facilities 2001 109 Satisfaction with long-term care has received the attention of academics, policymakers, and the general public. However, little attention has been paid to ethnic differences in satisfaction, despite the increasing proliferation of long-term care opti...
Small and invisible, yet strong and impactful: North Carolina's Montagnard community responds to COVID-19 2020 418 As COVID-19's impact disproportionately affects minority communities, North Carolina's Montagnard refugee and immigrant community has been no exception. Montagnards, a multi-tribal group, were resettled to the United States from the Vietnam highlands...
Staff perceptions of successful management of severe behavioral problems in dementia special care units 2003 189 Factors that promote successful management of persons with severe behavioral problems in special care units (SCUs) for dementia were evaluated. Using qualitative data from staff interviews conducted in 36 nursing home SCUs, the study examined the rel...
This is Health for our Families! - Montagnard Hypertension Prevention 2016 113 This report describes the activities funded by the CDLC Grant for Diverse Language Learner Communities, namely, a Community Health Fair, conducted on April 10, 2016. This event was offered on community request, as reciprocity for an ongoing community...
Too little, too late?: Can an integrated empathy-building intervention shift gero-attitudes for undergraduates in an online course? 2021 366 By 2050, 22.1% of the United States population will be 65 years or older, increasing the demand for well-trained, enthusiastic professionals to serve them. At the same time, later life is frequently pathologized, and there continues to be a preferenc...
Violence against women, symptom reporting, and treatment for reproductive tract infection in Kerala State, South India 2007 146 In this article we examine factors associated with women's self-reports of reproductive ill health symptoms and factors associated with seeking and receiving treatment for the symptoms. We focus on indicators of women's societal position, especially ...