Stephanie Chism HCA240 September 22, 2013
The impacts of healthcare delivery systems biggest issues are the aging and obesity. We need to understand how these can impact our lives and what we can do to address them now before they become a bigger issue in the future. Many of the Americans from the baby boomer era are becoming retired and will add to the future endeavors of the working class with many of our government programs being affected. The second contributor is obesity. Since this can go in hand with the aging these are the main reasons we need to look at our delivery systems.
Aging
The median age of the world's population is increasing because of a decline in
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Disability among older U.S. adults, as measured by limitations in instrumental activities of daily living, has declined since the early 1980s. Disability also is measured by limitations in activities of daily living (ADL), a common factor leading to the need for long-term care. Recent studies using ADL measures have shown varied trends in disability. The world has experienced a gradual demographic transition from patterns of high fertility and high mortality rates to low fertility and delayed mortality. The transition begins with declining infant and childhood mortality, in part because of effective public health measures. Lower childhood mortality contributes initially to a longer life expectancy and a younger population. Declines in fertility rates generally follow, and improvements in adult health lead to an older population. As a result of demographic transitions, the shape of the global age distribution is changing. By 1990, the age distribution in developed countries represented similar proportions of younger and older persons. For developing countries, age distribution is projected to have similar proportions by 2030. By 2030, the number of U.S. adults aged 65 or older will more than double to about 71 million. The rapidly increasing number of older Americans has far-reaching implications for our nation's public health system and will place unprecedented demands on the
Health trends in the United States indicate that there are several real problems trending. First of all, the United States population is aging at a fairly rapid rate which means that the problems associate with old age are becoming more prevalent. Another issue that country must face is that obesity has become an epidemic that needs to be curtailed or the health system will not be able to help the people who are destined to adopt diseases associated with increased weight. This essay is a report with regard to the trends that are occurring in the United States health environment and what those trends mean for healthcare professionals.
As a person ages, theirs body cannot perform the way it used to. This will cause many elderly people to loose their job or choose to go into retirement. Both of these options cause a loss in health care as well and a reduced or exterminated income. Here alone lies a reason that the elderly population is challenged. The elderly population also has a tendency to develop a chronic illness that can be life threatening if not treated or controlled properly. This means that need for health care treatments also increases. At least 40% of those over age 65 will have nutrition-related health problems requiring treatment or management (Gigante, 2012). It is important to realize that 10% of people over the age of 65 and will develop Alzheimer’s disease and 50% of those over the age of 85 will develop this disease (Gigante, 2012). More elderly African American men and women use government aid than white men and women. Therefore, this population will be vulnerable because of the lack of funding, proper health care and insurance.
The United States healthcare system has undergone a wide variety of changes over the past few years. As the overall health of its citizens continues to deteriorate and people live longer, certain aspects of healthcare are costing an increasingly large portion of the healthcare budget. Problems such as obesity, diabetes, cancer, and substance abuse have become the most pressing issues facing healthcare providers today.
Americans at the ages of 65 years and older are considered in the “elderly” classification. With advancements of healthcare and life expectancy growing rapidly, it is expected that the average American will grow to live at this age or longer. According to the Population Reference Bureau, the number of Americans at the age of 65 and older is expected to double from roughly 46 million today, to over 98 million by 2060. This means that the elderly’s portion of the total United States population will grow from 15 percent to almost 24 percent. As people obtain older age, they also obtain the health and social problems that accompany it.
Identify and describe at least three of the most difficult issues facing health care in the United States today. One of the most difficult issues facing the United States health care system is combating diseases. Even with mortality rates continuing to decrease and with life expectancy rates continuing to increase, these trends are masking concerns with specific diseases, injuries, and population groups. The diseases that still give us a formidable challenge include many varieties of cancer, some kinds of infectious diseases, and influenza. The second difficult issue
The elderly population in the United States has been and is expected to increase due to the aging of the baby boomers’ generation. The percentage of the elderly in relation to the U.S. total population is approximately 14% (Novak, 2012). With the expected increment, the overall state of health across the nation will be dependent on how healthy the elderly are. Consequently, measures to ensure optimal health of this age group should be a priority for policymakers and other stakeholders in the health sector.
In today’s world, the older generations are living longer than ever before. Prior to recent times, seniors were not expected to reach their 70’s or beyond. Now, the 85+-year-old age cohort is becoming the fastest growing cohort in the United States (Transgenerational). Therefore, it is essential for the government, researchers, as well as the individuals in the growing age cohort, to fight the negative stigmas of growing older, as well as preserve their health in order to lead happy and healthy lives.
The future of health care will be impacted by the population, need, demand and utilization of services. The United States is facing unprecedented growth in older adults and decrease rate of new birth rates that will tax the health care system. In 2020 the U.S. is predicted to have 3.4 million new retirees while younger cohorts are shrinking and this trend will continue to expand into 2050 when the population over 65 is expected to rise 21.6 percent because of the expected 78 million baby boomers retiring (Longevity, 2011). In addition, the fertility rate has declined over the last 40 years due to increase in female labor force, marital dissolutions, economic, average age of first marriage, reduced desired family size, education and social
Our health care system is complex in the way it is setup and the way it operates. There are many key issues that face the health care system in the United States today. Three of the most difficult issues include diseases, health disparities and paying for health care.
By the year 2020, elderly over the age of 65 are going to overpopulate those who are 14-24 years old. Sadly, The United States is not prepared for such an impact. In a way, this nation is dealing with depopulation and overpopulation. Today, the elderly are living longer due to the improvements in healthcare services and continuous financial investments in medical research, but the birthrates are declining among young adults. Most importantly, the rate of dementia, Alzheimer’s and other illnesses are growing among elders. This is a result of unhealthy eating habits, a lack of exercise, smoking/alcohol consumption and the large distribution of different kinds of drugs. There are a number of reasons as to why this occurs such as social learning,
This document will discuss how demographics disease trends affect the delivery of healthcare. Starting with current age composition of the United States population and how future changes will occur in the next 10 to 20 years. Next will be identifiable factors that support environmental and changing demographic trends. Providing examples of relevant diseases and how the aging trend will increase or decrease health issues and how to reduce health complications because of age. The current rate of obesity will be discussed and how it will change in the next 10 to 20 years. This paper will identify environmental and changing demographics
There are many reasons that the United States needs to address the health care system. Some of these reasons are that over 47 millions of people are without health insurance and many more are lacking an adequate plan. Also the cost of health care was too expensive for many of the lower and medial income families. The previous health care system was more focused on the volume rather than implementing quality provider care (Anderson, n. d.). The United States health care system was not focusing so much on health but leaned towards illness. There were no value in care services, patient did not have a significant role in their own treatment plan and care outcomes were not satisfactory. One example is a patient receives excellent care in the
In the next several decades, the aging population of the United States is estimated to double. This new generation of older adults will be more skilled in politics and technology than ever before. Because of higher divorce rates this new generation of older adults will have less family caregivers available and a larger number will turn to outside help with aging. Older adults are also projected to have a harder time paying for the increasingly expensive cost of aging care because Social Security and Medicare will be used by more people than we have workers. These demographic shifts will potentially cause economic hardship for all.
The impacts of healthcare delivery systems biggest issues are the aging and obesity. We need to understand how these can impact our lives and what we can do to address them now before they
Prevalence of elderly worldwide is rapidly accelerating from 461 million people aged over 65 years in 2004 to an estimated 2 billion people by 2050 (1).