Work and self-rated memory among native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander older adults

ABSTRACT

Objectives

Engagement in work has an important association with cognitive health in later life, yet little is known about this association among Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander (NHPI) older adults. This study assesses the associations between various work characteristics and memory problems among this population.

Design

Using data from the 2014 Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander National Health Interview Survey (NHPI NHIS), the research question was explored among those who were aged 50+.

Results

Engagement in work, certain occupation types (e.g., clerical or professional occupations compared to blue-collar jobs), and the current/most recent job that is also the longest job held were associated with lower odds of having memory problems.

Conclusion

The study’s results suggest that work characteristics and opportunities to engage in work are important considerations in preventing memory problems in later life. As the NHPI population experiences cognitive health disparities earlier than other groups, timely interventions that focus on work engagement and a culturally relevant environment require further investigation.

KEYWORDS:

• memory
• employment and older workers
• minority and diverse populations
• quantitative methods
• Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander older adults

Sustainable Development Goals:

• SDG 3: Good health and well-being

Acknowledgment

The publicly available datasets can be found at https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/nhpi.html (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CDC & National Center for Health Statistics 2017).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the US Administration on Aging, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC, to Hā Kūpuna National Resource Center for Native Hawaiian Elders. 90OIRC0001.