1. Making the connection:
Seeking and receiving help by
elderly African Americans
Written by: Kathleen Jett
Presented by: Hailey L. Mills
Presented on: March 6, 2012

2. Agenda
 Introduction
 Literature Review
 Methodology
 Results
 Discussion/Critique
 Class Discussion Questions

3. Introduction
 “The connection between the helper
and the one being helped has been
assumed and has not been
specifically examined, particularly in
the context of culture.” (374)

4. Literature Review
 “Functional mutual aid system”
 Neighboring: “relationships and
interactions occurring between people
living in spatial proximity of one
another”
◦ Perceptual neighboring
◦ Behavioral neighboring
(374)

5. Literature Review
 Six coping strategies to endemic
poverty:
◦ “Creating a compound;
◦ Joining a compound;
◦ Pooling resources in extended
households;
◦ Sharing poverty/making do;
◦ Drawing on a lifetime of banked favors;
and
◦ Educating one’s own children” (375)

6. Methodology
 41 people participated
 9 key informants emerged
 All were African American, live in rural area
in Southern U.S., and has knowledge about
aging and frailty through experience
 Data gathering lasted 9 months
 Data gathering: Interviews, informal
conversations, participant observation, and
photography
 (376-377)

7. Methodology
 Interviews lasted 1-4 hours
 All data transcribed verbatim
 Transcribed using The Ethnograph 3.0
software
 Two level of analysis emerged
 (377)

8. Results
 Demographic information:
◦ Descendants of freed slaves
◦ Low level of academic education
◦ Participants ages 77-84
◦ Majority married twice
◦ Average number of children: 2 ½
◦ Less than half have children immediately
available to them
◦ (377)

9. Results
 Rules of help seeking (378-384):
◦ “Deserve help;
◦ Have essential and genuine needs;
◦ Seek help from those who are capable
and willing;
◦ Seek help from biological children first;
◦ Then, seek out female bloodlines;
◦ Maintain a proper attitude
◦ Use correct language; and
◦ Trust and wait for people without asking”

10. Discussion/Critique
 Gave voice to silenced group
 Study was straightforward (384)
 No theory was present
 No research question was present

11. Class Discussion Questions
 Since there is no research question
presented, let’s design one. What
should the research question for this
study be?
 If you were the researcher conducting
this study, what bias(es) could you
foresee yourself having?
 What are your thoughts on using
photography to gather data?

12. My Research Question
 How do frail, elderly African Americans
seek and receive help in day-to-day
life?

13. Making the connection:
Seeking and receiving help by
elderly African Americans
Written by: Kathleen Jett
Presented by: Hailey L. Mills
Presented on: March 6, 2012