Independence is another concept, which is descriptive of rural white elders. In the area of health, this can be translated to protecting independence or guarding, sustaining, and protecting autonomy.

Certainly autonomy is important across the lifespan; however, as one ages, threats to independence become very real. Rural elders see the following mechanisms as ways to protect their independence:

• maximizing health
  
• managing illness episodes and
  
• reflecting on the eventuality of loss of health

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