The Situation in Brief

While government programmes like Social Security and Medicare have dramatically lowered the poverty rate and improved the health status of many older Americans, economic insecurity and poor health persist among large segments of the older population in the U.S., especially among women, people of colour, and older adults living alone. Atlantic’s U.S. Ageing Programme seeks to eliminate the barriers that contribute to poor health and low incomes among older adults by supporting advocacy for policy changes that would improve access to health and economic benefits, and strengthen the quality of health care, particularly for low-income older adults and those with multiple chronic conditions. Atlantic believes that many older adults would advocate for changes needed to improve their own lives and the lives of others, if they received the proper support to do. With that understanding, Atlantic funds efforts to increase opportunities for older adults to participate in advocacy. Finally, the Programme works to persuade additional foundations and donors to support efforts to better the lives of older adults, and provide for the leadership and infrastructure needs of key organisations to ensure lasting strength in the ageing field.

Ageing Programme Goals in the United States

• Improve economic and health security through advocacy and policy

• Strengthen the voice and social action of older adults

• Build a more enduring capacity of the age sector.

Ageing Resources

• American Federation for Aging Research, www.afar.org
• American Geriatrics Society, www.americangeriatrics.org
• Civic Ventures, www.civicventures.org/resources.html
• Federal Interagency Forum on Aging Related Statistics, www.agingstats.gov/chartbook2000/default.htm
• National Academy on an Aging Society, www.agingsociety.org/agingsociety
• National Council on Aging, www.ncoa.org, www.healthyagingprograms.org
• National Institute on Aging, www.nia.nih.gov
• US Department Health of Human Services, Administration on Aging, www.aoa.gov/press/fact/pdf/ss_stat_profile.pdf
• US Senate Special Committee on Aging, aging.senate.gov/public

More Facts At a Glance

• Most older people are fully independent in their daily activities and can care for both themselves and others.⁴
• Declining mortality and disability rates mean that older adults will probably enjoy even more active years. ⁵
  
• Older adults have to maintain their independence by coping with or managing an average of two chronic health conditions, such as high blood pressure, arthritis or diabetes.⁶
• While relatively few people over 65 have cognitive impairments, the rates of serious neurological diseases go up dramatically with age, such that nearly a third of older adults surviving to 85 have significant cognitive impairment.⁷
• Fewer than 3% of today’s medical students take even a single course in geriatrics; in the past, this percentage was even lower.⁸
• Considering only non-pediatric fields, residency and fellowship training standards for geriatrics still do not exist in 75% of the specialties important to older people.⁹
• Fewer than 1% of the nation's 2.2 million working registered nurses are certified in geriatric nursing. Only 23% of current nursing schools have a required course in geriatric nursing. ¹⁰
  
• Fewer than 5% of social workers identify ageing as their primary practice area, and among non-specialised social workers, only 2% report taking a course in gerontology or geriatrics.¹¹

Footnotes

1, Source: “Social Gerontology: A Multidisciplinary Perspective,” 6th edition, Nancy R. Hooyman, H. Asuman Kiyak

2, Source: A Profile of Older Americans 2004, Administration on Aging, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, p. 1

3, Source: AoA, p. 2

4, Source: Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics, Older Americans 2004, Key Indicators of Well-Being

5, Source: ”Beyond 50.03: A Report to the Nation on Independent Living and Disability,” AARP, 2003, p. 39

6, Source: Wolff, J.L., Starfield, B., & Anderson, G. (2002) Prevalence, expenditures, and complications of multiple chronic conditions in the elderly. Archives of Internal Medicine, Nov 11, 162(20) pp. 2269-2276

7, Source: Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics, Older Americans 2004, Key Indicators of Well-Being

8, Source: ILC, 2001

9, Source: http://www.adgapstudy.uc.edu/pdf/February2004.pdf

10, Source: Public Policy and Aging Report, Spring 2003

11, Sources: Public Policy and Aging Report, Spring 2003; Damron-Rodriguez, et. al, Gerontology and Geriatrics Education, 17(3), 3-18