More health care providers needed for the elderly
The good news is that Americans in general are living longer—there are eight times as many people over age 65 and 21 times as many over age 85 as there were in 19001—and various surveys indicate that, overall, disability declined in the elderly from 1982 to 1996.2 The bad news is that a potential health care shortage could leave millions of seniors without health care in the coming three decades, just as the number of elderly baby boomers swells.3
Robert F. Schoeni et al. reported their findings on declining disability in The Journals of Gerontology. The findings were based on data from 124,949 participants aged 70 or older in the 1982-1996 National Health Interview Surveys. The researchers pointed out that the prevalence of disability declined over that time. However, gains did not persist over the whole period or accelerate with time. In addition, only “routine care” disability, not more severe disability, decreased. They also point out that gains were among seniors with higher levels of education. They reported that exploring causes for improvements should be a priority in other research into seniors’ disability.2
This does seem an important first step in determining how to ensure optimal health for the growing population of elderly people: the number of people over 65 is projected to almost double in the United States by 2030. At the same time, too few physicians, nurses, nurses’ aides, and home health care workers are being trained; in fact, a recent Institute of Medicine report states there are only about 7,000 physicians specializing in geriatrics in the country. The report recommends tripling the number of health care workers capable of caring for the elderly by 2030—a challenge as the average internist with specialized training in caring for the elderly earns less than the average general internist.3
Home health care workers are also a key group, according to Larimer county residents who participated in a recent survey on aging needs by the Foundation on Aging for Larimer County. Although health professionals’ acceptance of Medicare coverage was seniors’ top concern (cited by 26%), home health care came a close second (25%).
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References
1. Smith GP II. Allocating health care resources to the elderly. I. Limitations on elderly access to medical care. Elder Law Review, Annual; 2002 [cited 2009 Jul 27]. Available from: http://findarticles.com/p/articles_6995/is_1/ai_n28132649/
2. Schoeni RF, Freedman VA, Wallace RB. Persistent, consistent, widespread, and robust? Another look at recent trends in old-age disability. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 2001;56:S206-18.
3. Zwilich T. Crisis ahead for elderly health care? Seniors could be strapped for health care as demand increases and workforce dwindles, experts warn. Medicare Health Center. WebMD 2008 Apr 14 [cited 2009 Jul 27]. Available from: http://www.webmd.com/medicare/news/20080414/crisis-ahead-for-elderly-health-care
