OTRNQualitativeJournal of advanced nursing2026

Structural Resilience Across the Life Course: Perspectives From Older Adults Racialized as Black.

Boeun Kim, Alicia K Cooke, Tiffany J Riser and 5 others

PMID 40955730

WHAT IT FOUND

Older adults racialized as Black described community and societal resources such as schools, healthcare, housing, and community groups as safeguarding, empowering, or restoring them across life.

Financial support, home modifications, and hospice care were part of these accounts.

Key findings

01Eight structural resource categories were described for childhood, nine for adulthood, and six for late adulthood.

02Participants described structural resources as safeguarding, empowering, or restoring them across the life course.

03Financial support newly emerged as a distinct category during adulthood and helped with home modifications and hardship.

STILL TO COME

How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for RNs

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What it does not show

The study included only 15 people, all from Baltimore City, so the resources described may not apply to older adults racialized as Black in other places. Only older adults racialized as Black were studied, so it does not show how these structural resources differ for other racial or ethnic groups. The study is qualitative and descriptive. It reports perceived resources, not measured health outcomes or tested effects. One participant declined to disclose age, so age data are based on 14 participants.

Declared interests

The authors declared no conflicts of interest. Funding was from the National Institute on Aging.

The easy way to misread this

Do not conclude that any single resource caused resilience. The study described perceived resources in older adults and did not test an intervention or measure health outcomes.

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