Demographic Paper Demographic Paper: The Aging Population’s Health By: Geneva D. Byrd HCS/490 Instructor: Angela Neale October 3, 2011 Since entering into the new millennium, The United States has been challenged with the meeting of many demands of our aging population. The increasing of health costs, financing and delivery of healthcare for the older population, and the worries about health care quality is a serious challenge for health care, in current demographic trends. Health care is researched and this is needed to help the aging population benefit from the advances in clinical, biomedical, and behavioral research.

Chronic diseases affect aging adults, which contributes to the diminishment of life, disability and the increase the cost of long term health care. The number of older individuals is expected to increase in number and this will affect the penalties for public health, delivery systems, health care financing, informal caregiving, and pension systems. In some Countries, much more attention is given to the aging population, and an extensive number of these individuals and growing amount of chronic disease will place tension on resources in countries where simple public health concerns are yet to be tackled fully. S. Jacobzone, 2000) The patient monitoring market will potentially grow because of the costs of managing the aging patients. The increase in the aging population will end in the increase requirement for health care services in general, and this includes monitoring devices. Remote patient monitoring segments and Tele-health will be needed more with in-patient care units to extensive applications in hospitals, and ambulatory care. “The expanding incidence and diagnosis of diabetes will promote greater precautionary testing and data acquisition from patient monitors into paperless charting systems (EMR’s)” (S.

Munshi, 2008). The usage of Electronic Medical Record’s will not only be a great driver for spending in the patient monitoring market but also increase patient awareness among medical professionals. Many chronic conditions affect the older population. These conditions include epilepsy, risk of ovarian cancer, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease and osteoporosis related fractures. There are over 38% of the older population that is over the age of 65 years old, who suffer from diabetes, and 1. 5 million older America’s have Parkinson’s disease; each year over 60,000 new cases are diagnosed.

Over 70 percent of men who are over the age of 65 will be diagnosed with prostate cancer each year, and 46 percent will be having knee replacement surgery. In less than 25 years, the older population will have a rapid growth and over 70 million Americans will be over 65 years of age. Improvements in health care services and technology, nutritional status, lifestyle, and other arrears affecting our health, have contributed to an unprecedented growth in our older adult population. (agsexhibit. frycomm. om) An Evidence-Based Disease and Disability Prevention Program will help to allow the older population to accept healthy behaviors, manage chronic conditions, improve health status, and enable aging networks have the volume to transport evidence-based programs. The AoA funded resource centers was initiated during 2006-2007 and each State that contributes to this grant program is required to select and implement other evidence-based programs listed below: 1. Fall Prevention: Emphasizes behavioral modification and strength training to help prevent falls. 2. Physical Activity: Emphasizes on healthy moves, wellness, and aerobic activities. . Nutrition and Diet: Emphasizes on eating the right foods, and maintaining an active lifestyle. Depression/Substance Abuse: Helps to enhance Healthy Ideas, which involves screening older individuals who experience the risk of depression. The Health, Prevention, and Wellness Program helps older individuals who are affected by chronic conditions and diseases, such as diabetes, arthritis, and heart disease, as well as disabilities that may have come from an injury such as a fall. Many of the older population die each year of chronic disease and this program enables them to practice and learn how healthy behaviors are critical.

The Health, Prevention, and Wellness Program’s: 1. Utilizes evidence-based, self-management programs. 2. Maintains and implements self-management classes, using non-clinical settings. 3. Allows those who participate to learn how to modify existing health self-management behaviors through communication and strengthening. Individuals who live in the rural communities are each faced with the same health care challenges and issues which oppose everyone else in the nation such as; underinsured, exploding health care costs, and the overextended infrastructure of health care.

A larger section of the rural population is dependent more upon the public health care programs because of the population being older and poorer and having less employer- based health care coverage. Even though many who live in the rural community and also businesses are not eligible for any of these programs, the elderly and the poor are covered by Medicaid and Medicare, and these programs have increased by nearly 122 percent since 1987.

There are health care reforms proposals speak on providing tax credits in order to purchase private insurance as a method of addressing issues of health insurance cost and accessibility for small businesses and the self employed, mainly in rural areas. Aging statistics show that the older population, who is 65 years old and older, was at 39. 6 million in 2009. During that time, the elderly represented 12. 9% of the United States population. Statistics also show that by the year 2030, the amount of older American’s in the United States will be at about 72. million, and that is more than twice the number that it was in the year 2000. In the year 2000, 12. 4% of the population was represented by the older population, making it 19% more by 2030. (aoa. gov) We see that evidence shows that the costs of chronic disease of the older population are huge, and by preventing these conditions, one could save on health care costs. Behavioral choices and attitudes is a large percentage of the cause of chronic diseases and reducing their occurrences may be hopeful and discouraging at the same time.

Even though the United States has been challenged with meeting the demands of the older population, continuing clinical, biomedical and behavioral research allows them benefit from such advances. References A. Bierman, (1996). Improving the Health and Health Care of Older Americans. Retrieved from: http://www. ahrq. gov/research/olderam/oldam1. htm Jacobzone S. , (2000). Coping with Aging: International Challenges. Health Affairs; Chapter 19, pgs. 213-225 S. Munshi, (2008). Retrieved from: http://hhmglobal. com/knowledge-bank/articles/health-spending-projections-through-2015-changes-on-the-horizon