Health Disparities Affecting the Elderly

Over the past forty years, life expectancy has increased significantly. This longevity is indebted to reductions in infectious diseases among infants and children, improvements in public health efforts, advancements in medical technology, and the amelioration of living standards and hygiene. Increased life expectancy is a remarkable accomplishment, however, it is overshadowed by the perpetuation of health disparities that restrict one’s access to adequate healthcare. Many elderly Americans have multiple comorbidities and as a result, require substantial medical attention. Unfortunately, race, poverty, and substandard education are a few of the barriers that deprive these elderly individuals of the care they need. The health disparities disadvantaged elderly individuals face not only impact their quality of life but also have an adverse effect on their caregivers and society as a whole.

The article entitled, “Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health and Mortality Among the U.S. Elderly Population,” documents the health and mortality disparities among elderly Americans. This research demonstrates the fact that education and income differences across groups continue to play an important part in the overall worse health of African Americans, Native Americans, and to a lesser degree, Hispanics in comparison to Caucasians and the Asian Pacific Island population. Disparate patterns of older adult health and mortality among racial/ethnic groups come about because of the varying demographic, social, economic, behavioral, and health and health care experiences of these groups over many years (Hummer, 2004).

Drastic improvements are needed to ensure disadvantaged elderly receive the health maintenance they deserve. One major change that can help us improve healthcare for the elderly is the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. This bill adds certain preventive services to Medicare, including cancer screenings and immunizations which have been proven to prevent disease, help to detect disease early, and lead to more effective treatment (Hickling, 2012). As I was completing this blog post, I released that there was no extensive research on the health disparities affecting the elderly. The article entitled, “Understand Health Disparities Related to Aging and Develop Strategies to Improve the Health Status of Older Adults in Diverse Populations,” suggests the development and implementation of strategies to promote active life expectancy and improve the health status of older adults in diverse populations, increase inclusion of underrepresented populations in aging research, and the encouragement of research to understand sex and gender differences in health and disease at older ages, as possible solutions that would improve the health of the disadvantaged elderly (Hodes, 2020). The health of disadvantaged elderly is equally important as that of all other demographics, therefore increased research methods, implementation of new policies, and changes regarding the treatment they receive need to be made.