Question

• Describe at least two ways health care administrators might use demographic data related to the aging population.
• Based on the demographic trends and continuing research needs, why is there a need to denote specific age groups?

Answer 1

Ways health care administrators might use demographic data related to the aging population.

Changes in population size, age, race and ethnicity affect the health-care resources needed, the cost of care provided, and even the conditions associated with each population group. Health-care organizations will have to adapt quickly to meet their patients’ changing needs—all while addressing health-reform requirements.

ways in which demographic data will help in elder care delivery include the following:

• Identifying ways to improve healthcare and quality of life for older adults across care settings, from the nursing home to the community
• Interpersonal interactions, either between older adults and family members or nursing staff, or among different levels of staff in a nursing home, which can influence older adults’ quality of life and health-related outcomes
• Nurses as integral members and leaders of interdisciplinary healthcare teams to solve complex health problems and provide for older adults
• Assessing multiple types of intervention, analytical parameters and environmental settings to fully understand the complexity of healthcare issues facing older adults and to produce the most positive health outcomes.

Need to Denote Age Specific Groups

Government policymakers and planners around the world use Age Specific Groups to gauge future demand for food, water, energy, and services, and to forecast future demographic characteristics. These can alert policymakers to major trends that may affect economic development and help policymakers craft policies that can be adapted for various projection scenarios.

The accuracy of Age Specific Groups has been attracting more attention, driven by concerns about the possible long-term effects of aging, HIV/AIDS, and other demographic trends.

Users of Age Specific Groups need to understand the reliability and the limitations of the data Provided. Awareness of how Data are prepared and the possible sources of uncertainty in the numbers can help policymakers more effectively incorporate it in their planning process.