Long Term Health Care
10/10/14
Assignment 1
The term “graying of America” refers to the fact that the American population is steadily becoming more dominated by older people. In other words, the median age of Americans is going up. Therefore, the population of America as a country is getting older. After World War Two, the United States enter a period known as the “baby boom.” During this time, American couples had relatively large numbers of children. This created a demographic bulge, an age cohort with a large number of members compared to those which had gone before it and which came after it.
Today those baby boomers are reaching retirement age. Because there are more of them than there are of younger generations, America’s population is growing older. This means that sorts of issues that important in the in the United States are changing. We have to think more about how we will support the growing population of older people. We have to focus more on medical care for the aged. Thus the “graying of America” is a process in which America’s population is getting older. This change impacts on our economy, our society, and our politics.
With our aging adults fewer than half are up-to-date with core preventive services, less than 30% of adults these adults are up-to-date with core clinical preventive services. Older adults are at high risk for developing chronic illnesses and related disabilities. Some of these chronic conditions include, Diabetes mellitus, Arthritis, Congestive heart failure, Dementia. Many experience hospitalizations, nursing home admissions, and low-quality care. They also may lose the ability to live independently at home. Chronic conditions are the leading cause of death among older adults.
Emerging issues for improving the health of older adults include efforts to coordinate care, help older adults manage their own care, establish quality measures, identify minimum levels of training for people who care for older adults and...