Aging/Older Adults

These short documents provide information on common health concerns for elderly people that can be caused or exacerbated by environmental factors. Elderly people, caretakers, and educators can use these resources to identify and prevent potential health threats. The fact sheets are available here in English and Spanish. They are available in 13 additional languages as well as large print and easy to read formats on the EPA website provided.

This guide identifies special skills needed specifically in the care for patients with dementia. The document is organized by competency areas, allowing direct care workers or trainers to focus on areas of improvement. Additional resources are also listed by competency areas as well as in alphabetical order and are complemented by a glossary and notes for trainers and supervisors.

This budget analysis compares the degree to which the aging of the population and rising health care costs, as well as the interaction of the two factors, will contribute to an overall increase in the federal spending on Medicare and Medicaid as a portion of the GDP. Using four different scenarios, it finds that a significantly larger portion of this increase will come from rising health care costs rather than aging.

This issue brief and background paper outline the ongoing history, services, and expenditures associated with the Older Americans Act (OAA). The report also summarizes services that are funded through the OAA and other federal and state funds and are provided by the state and local agencies that comprise the Aging Services Network. Finally, key challenges to meeting the needs of the changing population are identified, especially with regards to service improvement and funding.

The authors examined whether consumer direction is effective for elderly people with mental illness. The treatment group, those that participated in Cash and Counseling, fared better than elderly people that have a mental illness but did not participate in C&C. They also fared as well as elderly people without mental illness that were in the program. Variables studied included measures of consumer satisfaction as well as objective measures such as health, among others.

RE-AIM, a framework for program developers, planners, and evaluators to use to translate research into practices and policies that maintain the health and quality of life of caregivers. This monograph argues that this issue should be a public health policy priority, summarizes RE-AIM, provides policy and program scenarios for using the framework, and list resources and tools. The report is available in six parts here or as one document from the website.

The authors identified trends regarding the use of 1915(c) waivers to buy assistive technology (AT). They examined participation and expenditures as well as differences in provision between elderly people and individuals with developmental disabilities. Results showed that the use of waivers to fund AT is growing, but more slowly than the overall waiver program. Also, there are significant differences in provision between people with disabilities and older adults as well as between states.

State leaders are interested in the experience of states that developed adult foster care as part of their service array, trends in provider supply, regulations governing providers, and quality oversight practices. This report is based on the policies and practices in five states – Arizona, Maine, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin. The states were selected based on their approach to licensing and Medicaid coverage for this residential option. The report focuses on programs for older adults.

The Taskforce on the Aging of the American Workforce was created to address concerns that the supply of workers and vocational skills may not meet demand as baby boomers begin to retire. In this report the Taskforce outlines factors that may be limiting older Americans’ access to jobs. It also presents strategies to encourage and enable older Americans to remain in or reenter the workforce. The Taskforce is composed of nine relevant federal agencies.

This paper outlines the most common barriers to implementing livable communities and outlines cases where these barriers were overcome using planning and zoning tools. Housing, transportation and mobility, land use, cooperation and communication, public involvement in community planning, and leadership are the components of livable communities that are addressed.