A new review published by the United Health Foundation has issued a complete ranking of the best states to live in for overall senior independence and health. The study, “America’s Health Rankings Senior Report,” ranks states by judging factors that affect the elderly on a day-to-day basis.
The rankings reflect each state’s ability to accommodate seniors on a variety of subjects, ranging from availability of home health workers, quality nursing homes, food insecurity to poverty levels. Rounding out the top five in terms of overall elderly health were (consecutively) Minnesota, Hawaii, New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts, while Mississippi was found to be the lowest-ranking state in terms of quality health, preceded by Louisiana, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Arkansas, respectively.
Community and environmental activity were also primary components taken into account for the report, with calculations of data tallying everything from the rates of senior dental visits, the percentage of senior volunteerism, percentage of elderly receiving proper prescription drug coverage and measuring which states had the highest accounts of senior physical activity.
In terms of U.S. regions, the west coast and Midwest were the overall highest-ranking states in terms of quality active senior living, while the majority of southern and east coast states generally received the lowest grades. According to data provided by the report, the American senior population is expected to double in the next 25 years, and the intentions of the study were to point out obvious flaws for each state to work on as the country’s population continues to increase in overall age.
Senior statistics as a nation
Other notable discoveries reflecting the nation’s senior population as a whole indicated that the elderly population was more active this year than compared to last, with physical inactivity declining from 30.3 percent to 28.7 percent. Preventable hospitalizations also underwent a significant decrease, going from 66.6 discharges per 1,000 Medicare beneficiaries to 64.9 discharges.
Rhonda Randall, a senior adviser to United Health Foundation, acknowledged that while progress is being made in terms of emphasis on the importance of good health overall, there are still a number of qualities the country has to improve upon to truly accommodate the needs of American seniors.
“The decline in physical inactivity indicated in the report shows that seniors are making progress in living healthier lives,” Randall said in a press statement. “However, significant challenges remain – such as the prevalence of obesity and many chronic conditions – that we as a nation need to address in order to improve seniors’ health and quality of life. It is up to us – communities, states and the health care system – to promote healthy behaviors among this growing demographic.”
Dedication to senior improvement
The United Health Foundation sought out the assistance of 12 government agencies and research organizations to supply data for the report, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of Labor. It was the 24th annual study presented by the group, and a total of $240 million has been provided by the United Health Foundation during this duration to give to senior related programs and communities all around the world.
