Aging Invisibly

Statistical data suggest that many people with chronic health conditions pass away at much younger ages than their peers. Yet large quantitative datasets that address aging with chronic illness often do not capture the diversity of people with chronic diseases and their experiences of growing older. The assumptions built into many core data resources on aging often erase the journeys of people occupying marginalized social locations. Likewise, these same assumptions can result in omission of people who survive for long amounts of time while managing conditions with relatively short median life expectancies.

These barriers to understanding diverse experiences of aging with chronic illness are endemic but not unique to quantitative research. Qualitative data collection can indeed offer richer insight into both of these intersecting sets of aging experiences. However, even more in-depth approaches to inquiry with smaller groups of people require asking questions that explicitly explore and affirm the diversity of identities and health statuses held by older adults. A more constructive and impactful approach to capturing meaningful data on diverse experiences of aging with chronic disease is thus to focus on affirming study architecture, rather than viewing one particular set of methods as a panacea for exclusion.

With this new edited volume, the editors support the broader goal of expanding knowledge on diverse trajectories of aging with chronic health conditions. Contributed chapters range from critical reviews to methods primers to empirical investigations. The authors focus synergistically on amplifying the attributes and experiences of diverse social populations and on highlighting journeys of longevity with chronic disease.

Contributors are: Nicholas B. DiCarlo, Angela Hunt, Ian M. Johnson, Nat Jones, Kristen D. Krause, Nik M. Lampe, Ginny Natale, Audria LB, Kirsten Ostergren Clark, Manacy Pai, Michele Wise Wright and Terry Gene Wright.

Alexandra “Xan” C.H. Nowakowski, PhD (2013), MPH (2009), is Associate Professor of Geriatrics and Behavioral Sciences & Social Medicine at the Florida State University College of Medicine. They have published numerous journal articles, books, and public commentaries on the experience and management of chronic conditions as people age.

J.E. Sumerau, PhD (2012), is Associate Professor of Applied Sociology at the University of Tampa. They have published numerous journal articles, social fiction novels, short stories, and academic books on continuity and change in cultural meanings and settings over time.