Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this module the learner will be able to:

Describe the status and care of Black older adults during the antebellum period of the United States.
Describe the different assumptions of Black older adults that help to inform conceptions of health and illness.
Describe today’s African American population using the following categories:
- demographic characteristics
- ethnic-specific patterns of social support
- major causes of mortality
- relative risk for dementia, diabetes, and prostate cancer
Identify key barriers to Black older adults’ participation in health and related services.
Explain briefly the concepts: natural causes of illness; occult and spiritual forms of illness.
Discuss the effects of cultural bias on misdiagnoses and errors in treatment planning for patients.
Recommend a culturally appropriate approach to end-of-life care for African American older.

For ways to evaluate students’ understanding of the material, see

For explanations of major concepts and terms used in Ethnogeriatrics, click here.