Long-Term Retention of Older Adults in the Cardiovascular Health Study

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Reviewing the Article

In this paper, the author critically reviews the article titled Long-Term Retention of Older Adults in the Cardiovascular Health Study: Implications for Studies of the Oldest Old. The article reports the findings of a study conducted by a group of 8 scholars. The 8 are Strotmeyer, Arnold, Boudreau, Ives, Cushman, Robbins, Harris, and Newman. The article was published in 2010 in The American Geriatrics Society journal. In this paper, the author begins with a summary of the article. The author then examines the article’s structure, analyzing the layout of the information and its accessibility to the reader. The author then critically reviews the article, outlining its objectivity, accuracy, currency, authority, and coverage of issues. In this critical review, the author will also evaluate the article’s design and credibility. Taking everything into consideration, the author of this critical review believes that the article by Strotmeyer and colleagues is satisfactorily written. In addition, the article is clear and appropriate for the field.

Long-Term Retention of Older Adults in the Cardiovascular Health Study: Critical Article Review

Summary of the Article

The objective of the article is to assess whether or not old age affects retention and visits with regard to cardiovascular health services. It is also intended to establish features connected with types of visits. It is a longitudinal epidemiological study. The hypothesis of the study is that the category of visit depends on important lifestyle, demographic, functional, and health features. The article also hypothesizes that the oldest participants presents the lowest retention levels for clinical visits. The hypothesis is tested and the results clearly indicate that retention of older adults in clinical visits becomes increasingly difficult with advanced age. The lowest retention is experienced in the oldest adults group (Strotmeyer et al., 2010). The objectives of the study are presented in the very first paragraph of the article.

The study involved 5,888 Cardiovascular Health Study (herein referred to as CHS) ambulatory volunteers. The participants were aged between 65 and 100 years. They were drawn from four field centers in the USA in the 1989/1990 period. In the 1992/1993 period, an additional 687 African-American volunteers from three of the four centers were added. The volunteers were subjected to thorough baseline evaluations. The evaluations included clinical examinations, analysis of medical history, and review of cognitive and physical functioning. Baseline evaluations also involved laboratory tests. The evaluation tests were repeated during the annual clinical visits in the 1998/1999 period. The whole surviving cohort was reevaluated for cognitive and physical functioning in 2005/2006. The types of visits included clinical, telephone, home, and split visits. The type of visit was mostly determined by the volunteer’s preference. However, conditional involvement was applied if the volunteer failed to attend clinical visits. A questionnaire was used to collect lifestyle and demographic characteristics (Strotmeyer et al., 2010).

The statistical analysis of visit types was carried out systematically. It was carried out according to visit year and age group. Assessments were carried out in order to determine the relationship between age of volunteers and participation in clinical visits. To this end, a sex-adjusted equation model was applied. Chi-square tests and variance analysis were used to compare volunteer’s features at the last visit to the clinic. A multinomial logistic regression for the 2005/2006 visit group was conducted. The logistic regression was conducted depending on the features of the 1998/1999 visit group. The analysis was done using the telephone visit participants as the reference group of visitors. A number of variables were considered during these analyses. The variables included weight, age, clinical site, sex, current smoking status, and race. In addition, level of education (high school graduate) and self-reported health variables were taken into consideration. The study shows that retention is highly affected by age. As the participants aged, it became increasingly difficult to achieve in-person visits. As already indicated above, the oldest participants had the lowest retention levels compared to all the other age groups (Strotmeyer et al., 2010).

Article Structure

The authors introduce the article with a brief statement of the study’s objectives. The design, setting, participants, measurements, results, and conclusions are also briefly outlined. The article is organized into headings and subheadings with brief paragraphs. The presentation makes the information easily accessible to the reader. The introduction contains well referenced information and reasons (justifications) for the study whose findings are reported in the article. Such an introduction provides the reader with a clear picture of the importance of the study and the circumstances surrounding its conduction. The body of the article is broken down into scientific headings, which detail the different sections of the report, including methods and results. The discussion and conclusion sections are detailed and come towards the end of the article. A reference list is set-up clearly at the end of the paper. The list contains all the sources cited in the study. The organization of the article is convenient and gives the reader the flexibility to read the whole report or just access the part of the article they are interested in. In other words, the reader can track down relevant information in the article very easily.

The study reported in the article has both qualitative and quantitative elements. Statistical data is presented in the article’s statistical analysis subsection. It details the various statistical tests conducted in the study. The tests used were appropriate for the study since they were understandable, clear, and concise. They were also in line with the hypothesis. The article is summarized in the discussion section using short paragraphs. The paragraphs highlight the main points, making them clear and understandable to the reader. There is extensive referencing throughout the article. The sources used in the article, as already indicated, are provided in the references page. The article can be printed out and read at the convenience of the user. The reason is that it is in PDF format. Some of the literature in the article is advanced and targeted at professionals in this field. However, some sections of the article contain literature that an average person can easily understand. The accessibility of facts and findings in the article is quite commendable.

Article Critique

The information presented in the article was drawn from a longitudinal cohort study. The cohort study was conducted between 1989 and 1990. The information is collaborated and justified by the use of in-text citations, which support both the research and literature review. The extensive and up-to-date references list also supports the literature review and the research in general (Strotmeyer et al., 2010). The reliability and accuracy of the article is also supported by the strict editing and review process conducted in the study. For these reasons, the information contained in the article is reliable, accurate, and valid.

As already indicated, the article is a longitudinal cohort study. The study was conducted between 1989/1990 and 2005/2006. The researchers followed the performance of the participants throughout this period. Even though the study ended in 2005/2006, the findings were published in this article in 2010. The sources used and cited in the article were published between 1978 and 2009 (Strotmeyer et al., 2010). However, the study whose findings are presented in this article is current. The study is collaborated by a variety of other studies conducted over a long period of time. As such, it can be argued that the article is very current. What this means is that the findings presented in this article (about the retention of older adults in a CHS) are very relevant to this field.

The article is published in an academic journal targeting the scientific community. The major aim of the article is to provide more information with regards to research in the field of retention of older adults in clinical visits. The article details the subject matter in great depth. It is also important to note that the findings of the study can be generalized. The reason is that the study was carried out in four U.S. centers. However, the findings can be generalized to address situations outside the confines of these centers. The information in the article is presented in a logical and organized manner. The subject matter of the article is also very important in contemporary society. One can therefore argue that the article is significant to the clinical community.

The information presented in the article was logically generated and collaborated with a longitudinal cohort study. All the evidence in the research is acknowledged and supported by extensive referencing. Strotmeyer and colleagues recognize the complexity of the subject matter. One of the ways they recognize this is by providing citations of appropriate and relevant information to support the conclusions made in the study. The authors provide an extensive definition of ‘retention’ and provide explanations of the complex terms used in the literature review (Strotmeyer et al., 2010). The results of the study can be generalized to older adults in other parts of the country and in other parts of the world. The findings also inform similar studies carried out in other parts of the country and in other countries worldwide.

The limitations of the study are highlighted in the discussion section of the article. Most of the assertions and arguments made by the researchers are supported by the findings made in the study. The article presents the various perspectives regarding the subject matter. The article clearly presents the rationality of retention of older adults in clinical visits.

Conclusion

In this critical review, author analyzed the article Long-Term Retention of Older Adults in the Cardiovascular Health Study: Implications for Studies of the Oldest Old. The author critically analyzed the content, structure, accessibility, strengths, and limitations of the article. It was found that the article is current, accurate, and credible. The article makes significant findings. It is well structured and accessible to the reader. The findings are also presented objectively. Consequently, the article provides useful and significant information, enhancing understanding of retention among older adults in clinical visits.

Reference

Strotmeyer, E. S., Arnold, A. M., Boudreau, R. M., Ives, D. G., Cushman, M., Robbins, J. A.,…Newman, A. B. (2010). Long-term retention of older adults in the cardiovascular health study: Implications for studies of the oldest old. The American Geriatrics Society, 58(4), 696-701.

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