Aging/Older Adults

This report is the first in a series of three total Year 1 reports from NAMRS. It provides a general overview of the operating procedures of state Adult Protective Services agencies. While this report focuses on the hard data provided by states, future reports will discuss the narrative data also submitted by states. NAMRS has also released a background report summarizing the purpose and process of their national data collection system, as well as reference appendices A-C.

The Profile of Older Americans compiles data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the National Center for Health Statistics, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics to create a statistical summary of older Americans. The Profile focuses specifically on the population aged 65 and older and looks at changing demographics across individual categories, including population, income and poverty, living arrangements, education, health, and caregiving.

This recently released follow-up report was aimed at studying changes in the second year after individuals transitioned out of institutional care into community settings. Participants in the MFP program had higher costs during the first twelve months than non-MFP participants who also transitioned to community-based care. However, this study showed that these costs became comparable after the first year of transition.

As part of Mathematica’s ongoing evaluation project of section 1115 demonstrations, they have released their interim findings on the DSRIP program. This report shows quantitative evidence of DSRIP motivating positive provider actions, but the program’s impact on outcomes is still unclear. Mathematica aims to release a final report on the effectiveness of DSRIP in 2019.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released the first in a series of two reports examining issues related to housing for older adults. This first report looks at how federal agencies currently work together to meet the needs of older Americans in federally assisted housing. In this report, GAO recommends including USDA in collaborations and defining outcomes in order to inform stakeholders of results achieved and strategies or areas on which to focus.

This paper discusses the role of the public health field in promoting the health of older adults. It summarizes a meeting of aging stakeholders in Fall 2017 and analyzes the document developed at the meeting, called the Framework for an Age-Friendly Public Health System. This framework outlines the potential for the further involvement of public health in aging by presenting five major directions the field can take to make a positive impact on the aging process.

This report describes key considerations and policy decisions that states should consider as they work to implement EVV systems in accordance with the mandate included in the 21st Century Cures Act. The paper also examines different approaches that states may wish to use to establish EVV within their HCBS programs, and discusses some of the benefits and challenges associated with each approach. Lastly, it includes case studies of four states with existing EVV systems.

This brief uses a series of interviews to explore the ways that Medicaid health plans can work to meet the nutritional needs of low-income older adults. Best practices identified include hiring staff with strong nutrition experience, using assessments to create targeted interventions, adapting effective programs from other populations, and utilizing community resources. This paper is particularly optimistic about the potential of Medicaid partnerships with community-based organizations.

The Spring 2018 issue of Generations, the quarterly journal of the American Society on Aging, is divided into three main parts. These three sections are building community partnerships, building business practices, and examples of successful CBO use of business acumen. This issue also has a special focus on how the social determinants of health influence the experience of older adults in the community.

OHA has published volume IV of A State of Decay. This report examines the progress of states in promoting oral health in older adults, analyzing a combination of publicly available data and information from surveys conducted with state dental directors. It uses six main variables from these sources to rank states according to the quality of their oral health care for adults aged 65 plus. The report also highlights a number of future recommendations for supporting oral health in older adults.