Functional Status and Church Participation of the Elderly: Theoretical and Practical Implications

Abstract

This paper shows how functional impairment on five dimensions, physical health, mental health, economic re-sources, ability to perform the activities of daily living, and social resources, affected church participation of the elderly in a rural county of North Carolina. The data consist of 412 interviews with persons who were 60 years old or older in 1985. The instrument was a modified version of the OARS. The implications of these findings for the design of both studies of the relationship between aging and church participation and church programs to facilitate the involvement of the frail elderly are discussed