Disease Trends and the Delivery of Health Care Services
HCA/240
January 26, 2014
Disease Trends and the Delivery of Health Care Services
Demographics and disease trends will influence health care delivery services in the future in many different ways. Not only will the current aging population affect the delivery of health care services because of its rapid growth, but also obesity. Obesity is one of the more serious problems facing our nation today, and will only get worse unless the implementation of programs to educate the public on the many health issues this condition can cause to prevent them from happening. Moreover, not only does the health care delivery system need to ...view middle of the document...
Jacobsen, Kent, Lee, & Mather (2011) stated, “Since women live longer than men in the United States, women will continue to make up a majority of the older population in the foreseeable future” (pg. 3). Whereas, this age distribution among men and women are expected to remain approximately the same between 2009 and 2030, there will be notable changes in the age and gender gap by 2050 as the gap grows smaller (Jacobsen, Kent, Lee, & Mather, 2011). Furthermore, according to Vincent & Velkoff (2010), by the year 2042 the United States will become more racially and ethnically diverse with the combined minority population expected to become the majority. Thus, as people in the United States age over the next several decades, the older population will also become a more racially and ethnically diverse group. In addition, the overall age structure of the population is expected to change a great deal over the next four decades (Vincent & Velkoff, 2010). This will pose even more challenges to policy makers and programs designed to help the elderly like Medicare and Social Security. Therefore, being able to project the size and structure of the older population, in regards to age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin is not only important to public interest, but also private both socially and economically (Vincent & Velkoff, 2010).
Another factor that supports this trend includes the environmental factors. The health and well-being of the elderly has improved greatly over the past 30 years as death rates decrease, disability is less prevalent among the oldest ages, and disease for the elderly does not mean a death sentence (Jacobsen, Kent, Lee, & Mather, 2011). As the life expectancy in the United States has increased, so has the added stress on our health care delivery system because of the massive amount of older people who will need help with chronic diseases as they age that will add to the already rising cost of healthcare (CDC, 2003). Furthermore, the younger generation of today predicts that they will be more educated when the reach retirement age and the population will be better educated, healthier, and culturally literate because of the generation they live with today, which has taught them many lessons on how not to treat your body (Jacobsen, Kent, Lee, & Mather, 2011).
Unfortunately, this trend in aging will only increase the many health issues associated with getting older and will present huge challenges for the delivery of health care. According to the CDC (2003), the epidemiologic transition in regards to the leading causes of death, from infection disease and acute illness to chronic disease and degenerative illness already have been experienced by the developed countries located in North America, Europe, and the Western Pacific. For instance, diabetes causes excess illness and increased health-care costs, and affects about one in five people age 65 or older Thus, as the population gets older, the impact of this...
