Understanding Racial and Ethnic Differences in Health in Late Life
Understanding Racial and Ethnic Differences in Health in Late Life

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2004-09-08

Total Pages: 184

ISBN-13: 0309165865

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As the population of older Americans grows, it is becoming more racially and ethnically diverse. Differences in health by racial and ethnic status could be increasingly consequential for health policy and programs. Such differences are not simply a matter of education or ability to pay for health care. For instance, Asian Americans and Hispanics appear to be in better health, on a number of indicators, than White Americans, despite, on average, lower socioeconomic status. The reasons are complex, including possible roles for such factors as selective migration, risk behaviors, exposure to various stressors, patient attitudes, and geographic variation in health care. This volume, produced by a multidisciplinary panel, considers such possible explanations for racial and ethnic health differentials within an integrated framework. It provides a concise summary of available research and lays out a research agenda to address the many uncertainties in current knowledge. It recommends, for instance, looking at health differentials across the life course and deciphering the links between factors presumably producing differentials and biopsychosocial mechanisms that lead to impaired health.

Communities in Action
Communities in Action

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2017-04-27

Total Pages: 583

ISBN-13: 0309452961

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In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.

Retooling for an Aging America
Retooling for an Aging America

Author: Institute of Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2008-08-27

Total Pages: 316

ISBN-13: 0309131952

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As the first of the nation's 78 million baby boomers begin reaching age 65 in 2011, they will face a health care workforce that is too small and woefully unprepared to meet their specific health needs. Retooling for an Aging America calls for bold initiatives starting immediately to train all health care providers in the basics of geriatric care and to prepare family members and other informal caregivers, who currently receive little or no training in how to tend to their aging loved ones. The book also recommends that Medicare, Medicaid, and other health plans pay higher rates to boost recruitment and retention of geriatric specialists and care aides. Educators and health professional groups can use Retooling for an Aging America to institute or increase formal education and training in geriatrics. Consumer groups can use the book to advocate for improving the care for older adults. Health care professional and occupational groups can use it to improve the quality of health care jobs.

Services to the Aging and Aged
Services to the Aging and Aged

Author: Paul K. Kim

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-03-04

Total Pages: 346

ISBN-13: 1317954327

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This series attempts to address the topic of aging from a wide variety of perspectives and to make available some of the best gerontological thought and writings to researchers, professional practitioners, and students in the field of aging as well as in other related areas.This volume is an invaluable resource for those persons seeking a broad, comprehensive coverage of current public policies and service programs for the elderly. Besides dealing with present gerontological services, it also explores the emerging challenges that these services must face in the future. One of the outstanding features of the book is that its contributors include some of the most prominent authorities in the field of gerontology. This is an exceptionally important and timely volume and is a much needed addition to the literature on aging.

Aging and Ethnicity
Aging and Ethnicity

Author: Donald E. Gelfand, PhD

Publisher: Springer Publishing Company

Published: 2003-08-29

Total Pages: 232

ISBN-13: 0826174221

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In the Second Edition, Gelfand devotes greater attention to the impact of immigration on the United States and provides a useful model for providers working with older persons from diverse ethnic backgrounds. Based on 2000 Census data, this edition contains updated references throughout along with new tables/graphs. Chapter topics include: Security and the Ethnic Elderly; Family and Church as Sources of Assistance; and Programs and Services for the Ethnic Aged. Not meant to be an exhaustive review of the literature, the text focuses on specific issues and themes that the author believes are important to understanding and meeting the needs of older people from diverse backgrounds.

Aging and Ethnicity
Aging and Ethnicity

Author: Leo Driedger

Publisher: Butterworth-Heinemann

Published: 2014-05-20

Total Pages: 148

ISBN-13: 1483141985

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Aging and Ethnicity: Toward an Interface provides a framework for comparison in aging and ethnicity. This book examines the ethnic factor and its importance for the study of the elderly. Organized into five chapters, this book begins with an overview of the general demographic characteristics underlying the social structure of the ethnic elderly. This text then explores the extent to which elements of assimilation and modernization affect the lives of Canada's ethnic elderly. Other chapters consider the existing social policies as they pertain to ethnic groups and present a research agenda to guide basic and evaluation research. This book discusses as well the role of primary group relations for maintaining ethnic identity and for preventing loss of status within the family. The final chapter deals with methodological issues to be considered when studying the ethnic elderly. This book is a valuable resource for sociologists, ethnic assimilationists, medical specialists, and gerontologists.

Health-Care Utilization as a Proxy in Disability Determination
Health-Care Utilization as a Proxy in Disability Determination

Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2018-04-02

Total Pages: 161

ISBN-13: 030946921X

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The Social Security Administration (SSA) administers two programs that provide benefits based on disability: the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. This report analyzes health care utilizations as they relate to impairment severity and SSA's definition of disability. Health Care Utilization as a Proxy in Disability Determination identifies types of utilizations that might be good proxies for "listing-level" severity; that is, what represents an impairment, or combination of impairments, that are severe enough to prevent a person from doing any gainful activity, regardless of age, education, or work experience.

Racial and Ethnic Differences in the Health of Older Americans
Racial and Ethnic Differences in the Health of Older Americans

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 1997-09-23

Total Pages: 312

ISBN-13: 0309175569

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Older Americans, even the oldest, can now expect to live years longer than those who reached the same ages even a few decades ago. Although survival has improved for all racial and ethnic groups, strong differences persist, both in life expectancy and in the causes of disability and death at older ages. This book examines trends in mortality rates and selected causes of disability (cardiovascular disease, dementia) for older people of different racial and ethnic groups. The determinants of these trends and differences are also investigated, including differences in access to health care and experiences in early life, diet, health behaviors, genetic background, social class, wealth and income. Groups often neglected in analyses of national data, such as the elderly Hispanic and Asian Americans of different origin and immigrant generations, are compared. The volume provides understanding of research bearing on the health status and survival of the fastest-growing segment of the American population.