America’s Health Rankings 2021 Senior Report Unveiled

The America’s Health Rankings 2021 Senior Report highlights the pre-COVID public health realities and identifies that Missouri is facing challenges related to the health of older adults across the state.

Understanding the health of our nation’s seniors is especially important as our country continues to respond to COVID-19, America’s Health Rankings highlights 49 measures of population health, examining the impact that social, economic and environmental factors have on overall health. The report was developed in partnership with the Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association (GAPNA).

Here in Missouri, the 2021 Senior Report finds:

• High prevalence of physical inactivity
• High early death rate
• High pneumonia vaccination coverage
• Low prevalence of excessive drinking

Key National Findings:

• Seniors faced increasing mental/behavioral health challenges: Leading up to the pandemic, seniors experienced a number of worsening behavioral health outcomes – including a 39% increase in drug deaths and a 3% increase in suicide between 2014-2016 and 2017-2019 and an 11% increase in frequent mental distress from 2016-2019. Before the pandemic, the risk of social isolation for seniors in a given state was correlated with higher rates of frequent mental distress.
• Measured improvements in clinical care: Prior to the pandemic, seniors across the country experienced improvements in clinical care factors – including a 13% increase in geriatric providers. Flu vaccinations among seniors rose 6% between 2017 and 2019.
• Disparities by geography, race/ethnicity and other factors persist: Health improvements for older adults were not experienced equally across the country, with populations in rural states and certain racial and ethnic populations facing greater challenges.

For more information and to view the entire report visit https://www.americashealthrank...