America’s Health Rankings Senior Report

From American Health Rankings, May, 2019

According to the United States Census Bureau, in 2017 there were nearly 51 million adults aged 65 years and older living in the U.S., a 45 percent increase from 35 million in 2000. It is important to monitor the health trends in this growing population to help identify priorities and take action to improve the health and well-being of seniors, who accounted for an estimated 15.6 percent of the U.S. population in 2017.

The 2019 America’s Health Rankings® Senior Report provides a comprehensive look at the health of seniors across the nation and on a state-by-state basis. Thirty-four core measures of health are used to create the senior health state rankings. Supplemental measures, such as risk of social isolation, are also available on the website to highlight current and emerging issues affecting seniors. This year, a new supplemental measure, called “avoided care due to cost”, was added to address affordability of health care services and unmet medical needs due to cost….

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State Findings: Hawaii, 2019

Highlights

• In the past three years, obesity increased 40% from 14.1% to 19.8% of adults aged 65+
• In the past two years, four- or five-star rated nursing home beds increased 33% from 51.2% to 67.9% of certified nursing home beds
• In the past four years, SNAP reach decreased 11% from 100.0 to 89.1 participants per 100 adults aged 60+ in poverty
• In the past six years, hospice care use increased 136% from 21.5% to 50.8% of Medicare decedents aged 65+
• In the past six years, early deaths decreased 7% from 1,516 to 1,415 deaths per 100,000 adults aged 65-74
• In the past two years, depression increased 32% from 7.6% to 10.0% of adults aged 65+

Strengths

• Low prevalence of obesity
• High percentage of four- and five-star nursing home beds
• Low early death rate

Challenges

• High prevalence of excessive drinking
• Low percentage of volunteerism
• High percentage of hospital deaths

Read … State Findings: Hawaii, 2019  

SR: New report ranks Hawaii first in the nation for senior health