Elder Health Trends Sicken Some
Dr. David J. Demko, Gerontologist
AgeVenture News Service (11-18-02)
America's healthcare system is the greatest in the world ... unless you get sick and can't pay ... or you're
too old to get to a doctor's office on your own. As most Americans know, especially the elderly, the availability of heatlhcare does not always imply access to healthcare. It's not just inaccessible to many people, its inaccessible to too many elderly, and its grossly neglectful of great numbers of minority elders.
Vaccination, for example, can help protect persons 65 and older from influenza
and pneumococcal disease, two of the most important causes of
death among older Americans. That's the good news. The bad news
is that as recent as the year 2000, less than half
of older African Americans and Hispanics receive life-saving vaccinations.
A recent analysis of data from CDC's Behavioral
Risk Factor Surveillance System showed that
influenza vaccination is still only reaching two-thirds of
people 65 and older who would benefit from it
and that coverage dropped slightly between 1999
and 2001, probably because of the delays in
distribution of influenza vaccine in 2000.
Pneumococcal vaccination coverage is even
lower, only about 60 percent in 2001, but that
was a gain of 6 percent from 1999 rates.
Coverage of both vaccines was lower among
African Americans and Hispanics than among
non-Hispanic whites.
Continued efforts to improve immunization rates,
especially among minority populations, will be
necessary to in order to reach the federal government's "Healthy People 2010"
objectives which call for 90 percent coverage for both
vaccines among persons 65 and older.
Attempts to increase the rates of adult immunizations
in older minority and ethnic groups is not a new idea.
In year 2000, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
spearheaded an initiative to target African American,
American Indian, Alaska Native, Hispanic American,
Asian American, and Pacific Islander populations.
On elder healthcare issues in general, the Centers for Disease Control
prevention programs have recently begun to focus on the following
diseases that disproportionately affect minority groups.
- African Americans: diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and immunizations;
- Latinos: cardiovascular disease and late on-set diabetes;
- Indian and Alaska Native: prevention of diabetes;
- S.E. Asian and Pacific: cardiovascular disease, diabetes and immunizations.
As you can see, elder minority healthcare has come a long way. In reference to vaccinations,
efforts have progressed from less than half vaccinated in year 2000, to
nearly two-thirds vaccinated today. Great progress, but there's obviously more work to be done.
See related articles in AgeVenture archives.
Elder Racial and Ethnic Minority Health
Glaucoma Surgery Varies Based on Race
U.S. AoA Targets Minority Health Concerns
AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
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Dr. David Demko, Editor
E-mail:newsdesk@demko.com
