Race Disparities in Health among Older Adults: Examining the Role of Productive Engagement

Productive engagement is a potential pathway to health for older adults, but this relationship varies by race. This study examines the relationship of productive engagement to the health and observed health disparities of older African American and white adults. Productive activities include formal and irregular paid employment, caregiving, volunteering, and informal social assistance. The authors analyzed longitudinal panel data on individuals ages 60 and older from the Americans' Changing Lives survey with generalized estimating equations methods. Indicators of self-rated health and functional status were regressed separately on measures of productive engagement after accounting for sociodemographic differences and prior levels of health. Analyses were stratified by race and compared. Engagement in productive activities predicts better functional status for both groups, but higher self-rated health only among white adults. Number of activities performed was positively related to both health measures for all individuals, and hours of engagement and the ratio of paid to unpaid hours did not predict health outcomes.