The Aging Society

Its effects on Health Care

Delivery
Introduction
• Major changes in the
demographic profile of the
United States are under way,
and these changes are
projected to accelerate in the
next several decades.

• Important demographic shifts

include the aging of the
population and the projected
growth of the oldest old (those
85 years of age or more);
…

• The growing elderly

population will be a major
determining force in the
next century for the
demand and supply of
health services and,
therefore, for the type of
resources needed to
provide those services.
Objective

• provide a general
perspective for
understanding the
implications of these
population changes on the
demands for health care
services in hospitals and
nursing homes and the
supply of an adequate
nursing workforce to
Growth of the
population
• The U.S. population is aging
and the population in the 21st
century will be older than it is
now.

• The growth of the older

population may be considered
as one of the most important
developments of the twentieth
century
Statistics…
The growth to date is just
the beginning of the aging
of America.
– In 1900, there were 3.1
million people 65 years of
age and older, or 1 in 25
persons.

– In 1994 this number was

around 33 million or 1 in 8
persons
(Bureau of the Census,
FIGURE 2.2 Number of people 85 years and older,
United States, 1900–2050 (middle series projections).
SOURCE: Bureau of the Census, 1993c.
Effect…
This rapid growth of the oldest-old
population will have a major effect
on the health care system in terms
of
2. services needed,
3. education,
4. training and experience of health
personnel,
5. knowledge of diseases and
treatments for the aged, and
6. demands on resources for the
services used by this segment of
the population.
Conclusion
• The aging of the population affects
the demand for all health care
services, including hospitals, and
long-term care.
• Older persons use more health
services than their younger
counterparts because they have
more health problems.
• They are also hospitalized more
often and have longer lengths of
stay than younger persons.
• The growth of the elderly
population is likely to result in
increases in inpatient admissions.
Nursing Shortage
Causes:
2. Job dissatisfaction
– as stemming from frequent
schedule changes,
overloads, shift work, lack
of appreciation by
superiors and colleagues
– Inadequate pay
Impact
• Increase nurses’ patient’s
loads

• Increases the risk for error

• Increase in nursing turnover

• Increase perception of unsafe
working conditions,
contributing to increase
shortage, and hindering local
or national recruitment efforts
The Global scenario
• The nursing shortage is in global
scale
• Netherlands needed to fill 7000
nursing positions in year 2002,
• England needs to fill 22,000
positions in year 2000, and
• Canada will need about 10,000
nursing graduates by year 2011.

• In the US, recruiting foreign nurses

has been practiced for 50 years.
Philippines supplied most of its
nurses to the US and other
countries.
• Overall, the total number of foreign
graduate nurses continues to
Effects of the
Shortage
• The demand for healthcare
practitioners and technical
occupations will increase and
projected to have 1.7 million job
openings with in this time period.

• In this group, the demand for

registered nurses is the highest.
Registered nurses are predicted to
have a total of 1,101,000 openings
due to growth during this 10 year
period. In a 2001 American Hospital
Association survey, 715 hospitals
reported that 126,000 nursing
positions were unfilled.