Full Citation
Title: Affordable Housing: A Key Lever to Community Health for Older Americans
Citation Type: Journal Article
Publication Year: 2016
ISBN:
ISSN:
DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2015.303034
NSFID:
PMCID:
PMID: 26959266
Abstract: America is aging. By 2050, the number of adults aged 65 years and older will nearly double; the number of elders of color will more than triple.1 The notion of advancing public health for older Americans may seem contradictory in our youth-oriented culture, yet people aged 65 years have an average of almost 20 years or more remaining in their lives, an increase of more than 50% during the past century. Lower income adults become economically insecure older adults who do not have the resources to pay for a decent quality of life in those remaining years. A key lever to promote healthy aging in communities is affordable housing, especially for older adults who have limited incomes. As housing supply and quality decrease for low-income older adults, rising housing costs correspondingly impinge on family support, including availability of food, transportation, in-home assistance, and medical care. The problem is not new, but a rapid transition to an older society, with marginal assets in disadvantaged communities, highlights a problem requiring comprehensive public policy response. Older Americans’ health is shaped by their life course. Early and long-term exposure to detrimental environments and lifestyles results in a higher risk of health problems and disability at earlier ages. Recent economic trends have dramatized these patterns, with a report from the National Academies of Sciences showing a growing gap in US life expectancy between the lowest and highest quintiles of income, increasing from a five-year gap in 1980 to nearly 12 years in 2010.2 Women in the lowest income segments experienced decline in life expectancy and the poorest men experienced no increase in life expectancy, but wealthier groups had significant increases. This profile is consistent with abundant evidence of adverse health consequences of living in America in underresourced communities, especially for disadvantaged older Americans.3
Url: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26959266
User Submitted?: No
Authors: Vega, William A; Wallace, Steven P
Periodical (Full): American journal of public health
Issue: 4
Volume: 106
Pages: 635-6
Data Collections: IPUMS USA
Topics: Housing and Segregation, Other
Countries: