Missoula Measures - Older Adults

Related Data
Brief Background
Related Measures
Related Websites

Why this topic?

In 1900, people over 65 constituted 4 percent of the population. In 2000, this proportion is 13 percent, and in 2030 is projected to be 22 percent. People who reach the age of 65 can now expect to live into their 80s.

Indicator

graph numbers of older adults in Missoula County

U.S. Census

Related Data

The population over age 60, in 2005-09 US Census:

Missoula - 15.7%
Montana - 19.6%
US - 17.4%

50% of people in Missoula County over the age of 60 live alone and have annual incomes of less than $10,000. (Report to the Community, Missoula Aging Services, 1999)

Missoula’s growing aging population to some extent reflects older people moving to be near middle-aged sons and daughters and older people from outlying rural areas moving to town to be near services

Nationally:

There was a 34% increase in the number of people age 85 and older, from 1990 – 2000.
At the current rate of growth, by 2025, Montana will have the 3rd largest percentage of people over age 65, trailing only Florida and West Virginia.
Older people aren’t sickly and home-bound; 90% are active and well.
However, people over 75 are often frail and in need of some assistance in activities of daily living. 39% of those 65 or older have at least 1 disability; 21% of them have 2 or more disabilities. These percentages increase with age.
90% of older people live in houses they choose. Of these, 70% own their own homes, and 80% of these homes are mortgage-free. Only 5% of people 65 and older live in nursing homes.
Median income for those 65-74 is $30, 472. For those over 75 median income is $22,530. With increased longevity rates, people can out-live their assets.
US Census and Federal Forum on Age-Related Statistics
Fifty percent of people in Missoula County over the age of 60 live alone and have annual incomes of less than $10,000. Report to the Community, Missoula Aging Services, 1999

Missoula Aging Services provides the Meals on Wheels program which delivers 1 meal a day, Monday through Thursday, and 3 meals on Friday (including one for Saturday and one for Sunday) to homebound people, many of whom are elderly. They serve over 500 people a year.

As of July 2011, Missoula had:

6 nursing homes
16 assisted living facilities
10 retirement home complexes

Falls and the elderly

Falls are the most common cause of injuries among senior citizens and are the top reason for a hospital admission for trauma. Advanced age substantially increases the likelihood of hospitalization after a fall. Falls account for 87% of all fractures among people aged 65 years or older. MedicineNet.com

Fractures in older people heal more slowly than those in younger people.

A lengthy recovery period from fractures or other injuries can cause depression and can severely reduce a person's independence and further reduce mobility, agility, balance and muscle strength. A program for physical activity appropriate to the limits of the injury is crucial to a full recovery.

Fear of falling may cause a person to reduce his or her level of physical activity which actually increases the risk of falling.

Healthy People 2020 Target
	Base	Target
Reduce rate of ER visits for falls per 100,000	5235	4711

Brief Background

Challenges for the elderly include

Mobility and transportation
Long term care options
Community activities
Cost of increased medical bills – not necessarily more expensive, but just more
Housing options
Retirement / independent living facilities
Assisted living
"Home care" - a wide range of health and social services that are delivered at home to recovering, disabled, chronically or terminally ill persons in need of medical, nursing, social, or therapeutic treatment and/or assistance with the essential activities of daily living.
Nursing homes
Continuing care retirement communities – independent living to assisted living to nursing home all on one campus.

"Many aspects of life change." Avrene L. Brandt, Ph.D. Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Media, PA -

As adults approach their senior years many aspects of life (physical, social, financial, and employment) are changing. For most seniors, the retirement years are anticipated positively and with an expectation of more leisure time and a lessening of demands and responsibilities. Neither seniors nor their families are adequately prepared for the stresses that also accompany aging. The goal during the senior years then is to maximize the positive and develop strategies for coping with the stresses.

As with anything in life, the discrepancy between what one expects and what actually exists can be a set up for disappointment and frustration. It is therefore important to realistically look at changes which may occur and which may be experienced as losses from life as it was.

To begin with, the aging process brings physical change. Older adults may not feel or look as well as they did. There may be a general slowing down of activity level and cognitive speed. There are also specific losses – of vision, hearing, movement, and memory. Seniors can still do the same things but it can take longer. The changes though, can impact on mobility in terms of going places, driving and pursuing activities.

There are also changes in identity and roles, which accompany retirement. Our jobs typically define much of our identity. Retirement from a job can create a gap and affect self-esteem. It is also not uncommon that seniors are faced with necessary changes in their living situation. Health and safety issues may necessitate a move from a place that was home for many years. There is then a loss of the familiar, of neighbors, of possessions, of a place of worship, and so on. Transitions and losses associated with moving can echo and intensify earlier losses of friends and family through death or through their also moving away.

In addition to the role change that occurs with retirement from a job, gradually, over time, there is a role change that occurs with seniors vis-a-vis their children. Children of adult seniors may begin to take over responsibilities for finances, physical well being, getting places and so forth. Neither senior parents nor their adult children find this role reversal comfortable. For seniors, giving up decision-making and choice is an affront to their self-esteem. For adult children, it may be embarrassing and arouse anxiety to see their parent as dependant and vulnerable. It is a sensitive issue – to know how much to take over and what to leave in the province of a senior parent. For adult children there is also the challenge of balancing their own lives, families, careers and social needs with that of their aging parent. If not handled well, the issue can lead to tension frustration and conflict between adult children and their aging parent.