Race and Place: Influences on Functional Ability Among Women Ages 80+ Years

Abstract

Guided by current frameworks, including Feminist Disability Theory (FDT; Heller et al., 2019), we examine two contextual contributors to functional ability among women over the age 80 years. With data from the 2020 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), we probe the ways in which rurality and race influence functional ability. Data from 18,560 US women over age 80 years were included in a regression in which the effects of rurality (18% rural) on functional ability were moderated by race (89% White), F (3, 18058) = 32.72, p < .001). Rural women reported lower functional ability, especially when they identified as racially or ethnically diverse. Despite the small significant effects, these older women reported high levels of functioning in their daily lives. Informed by Haywood (1977) who articulated the problems of over-extending important research findings, our discussion advocates using caution when discussing small, but significant results.