Learning Objective #1: Report how older incarcerated men describe their health and the degree to which maintaining and promoting health is valued

Learning Objective #2: Discuss health behaviors engaged in by older men in prison, as well as the barriers they face to engaging in health behaviors

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Purpose and Aims: To conduct a pilot study of incarcerated older men's: health status and needs; interest in health maintenance and promotion; health self-efficacy; and barriers to health promotion. Further, the feasibility of procedures and tools for use in this population will be ascertained. Theoretical framework: Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory (2004). Methods: A convenience sample of 50 incarcerated older men at a minimum security correctional facility will be obtained. An exploratory survey design is used to investigate older male prisoners': health status and needs; interest and confidence in maintaining and promoting health; and barriers to health promotion. Face-to-face surveys are read to the older inmates. Inclusion criteria are: age > 50; incarceration; and possibility of transition to the community. Exclusion criteria are: life or death sentence; AIDS, chronic renal failure, current chemotherapy or radiation therapy for cancer; or major mental illness, dementia or primary brain damage. The survey includes portions of the Older Men's Health Program and Screening Inventory (OMHPSI; Loeb, 2003) the Health Promotion Activities of Older Adults Measure (HPAOAM; Padula, 1997), with newly constructed items specific to older prisoners. Participant responses are transcribed onto scantrons and will be analyzed using SPSS. Descriptive statistics, Pearson product-moment correlations, t-tests, and psychometric analyses will be computed. Results and Conclusions: Pending conclusion of the study. Implications for Advancing the Nursing Research Agenda or Improving Quality of Care: Findings from this study will uncover needed information about the health status, beliefs, and behaviors of older men in prison and serve as essential pilot data for a larger study aimed at development of a contextually appropriate intervention for increasing the health-promoting behaviors of older men in prison. Validity and reliability will be measured for the items adapted from the OMHPSI and the HPAOAM and the newly developed items for use with older male prisoners.