The impact that older adults have on the health care system is illustrated by the fact that
a. the aging population is growing faster than any other age group.
b. many individuals over age 65 have chronic illnesses requiring frequent hospitalizations.
c. older adults have a lower rate of hospitalization and physician visits than any other group.
d. older adults tend to overreport symptoms and delay seeking treatment.
A
In the last 30 years the older adult population (those 65 years of age and older) has grown twice as fast as the rest of the population. The group most rapidly increasing in numbers is those individuals over 85 years old. Many individuals over age 65 do have chronic illnesses. The diagnosis and acute phases of a chronic illness are usually managed in a hospital; however, all other phases of a chronic illness are usually managed at home.The older population, having lived through a number of hardships and life experiences, may erroneously attribute specific symptoms to normal aging, will ignore them, and delay seeking treatment. They tend to underreport symptoms and to treat these symptoms by altering functional status.
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