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Sex and Gender in Older Adults' Experience of Parkinson's Disease

Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina.

Address correspondence to Samantha Solimeo, MPH, PhD, Department of Sociology & Anthropology, North Carolina State University, Campus Box 8107, Raleigh, NC 27695. E-mail: Samantha{at}Solimeo.com

Objectives. This article reports on the gendered experience of Parkinson's disease (PD). Data derived from 15 months of ethnographic study among community-dwelling older adults living with PD in eastern Iowa.

Methods. The study utilized several methods: participant observation at PD support group meetings, illness narrative interviews with PD sufferers, and a questionnaire.

Results. A total of 171 PD sufferers (106 men, 65 women) enrolled in the study. Illness narratives revealed gender differences in the impact of specific symptoms on daily life: Women's narratives emphasized the impact of the on/off effect and "thinking problems," whereas men's narratives emphasized the consequences of their physical appearance. In comparison, quantitative data found little sex difference in symptomatology.

Discussion. The comparison of qualitatively and quantitatively derived data reveals the importance of attending to both sex and gender. Qualitative data demonstrate how the meaning of PD symptoms is gendered and illustrate an example of how gender and sex research differ. All narratives reflect the importance of role continuity, but men's put at the forefront appearance and social isolation whereas women's underscore their relational aspects of domestic activities. These data imply that providers must look beyond symptomatology to the gendered saliency of particular somatic phenomena.

Key Words: Gender • Parkinson's disease • Masculinity • Femininity • Chronic illness • Disability