Education, Occupation, and Healthcare Accessibility as Predictors of Self-Reporting Memory Rating

The increasing number of dementia cases in the United States, particularly among
women, is a significant concern. This progressively deteriorating cognitive disease may
profoundly affect talking, decision-making, and problem-solving abilities, interfere with
their daily lives, and decrease their life expectancy. Although education, occupation, and
healthcare access are individually associated with positive health outcomes, it was
essential to explore whether their combination impacts self-reporting memory loss, an
indicator of dementia. The purpose of this study was to determine the role of education,
occupation, and access to health care as predictors of dementia among women in the
United States. This study used Krieger’s ecosocial theory of disease distribution, which
branches off the social-ecological model and presents the many factors affecting health.
This cross-sectional, quantitative study used secondary data from females participating in
the 2018 Health and Retirement Study data set. Pearson’s chi square tests of
independence, crosstabulations and a multiple linear regression analysis were used to
identify relationships between education, occupation, access to health care, as predictors
of self-reported memory rating as a measure of dementia symptoms. Results of the
multiple linear regression analysis show that age, Hispanic/Latino origin, non-Hispanic
Black ethnicity, job status, affordability, and education predict self-reported memory
ratings; type of place of care was not associated with memory ratings. Implications for
positive social change include raising awareness of the impact of these variables on
dementia and promote policy changes to improve women’s lives through equal access to
education, occupation, and health care.