Unequal Burdens and Unheard Voices: The Need for Minority Aging Research and Policy

Unequal Burdens and Unheard Voices:
The Need for Minority Aging Research and Policy

Carmen R. Green, MD, and Gilbert S. Omenn, MD, PhD
University of Michigan

"The moral test of government is how it treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped."
Hubert H. Humphrey

Health disparities policymaking and health disparities research need a special focus on the elderly. The Annual Older Americans’ Month was celebrated for the first time in May 1963. At that time 17 million Americans had reached their 65th birthday; today, nearly 40 million Americans have reached their 65th birthday.(1) Despite numerous references to an aging America, there is less attention directed at who are aging. Currently, 16.1% of all Americans 65 years or older are minority elders, with the majority being African-American. Looking into the crystal ball to the year 2050 reveals a darker and older America with an 81% increase of white elders and a 217% increase in minority elders.(2) Estimates project increases of 128%, 301%, 322%, and 193% for African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, and American Indian and Alaska Native elders respectively.(2) Among the old-old, 85 years of age and older, the relative growth will be less due to lower survival.(3) Elderly women will continue to significantly outnumber elderly men, making aging a particularly important women's health issue.

Racial and ethnic minorities are disadvantaged when compared to whites on most major health indices.(4, 5) Increasing survival after cancers, strokes, and other catastrophic illnesses and injuries has been less among minority elders. The medical and technological advances that have yielded healthier aging for whites have not been applied as successfully for other populations, thus contributing to health and health care disparities. Overall, minorities have increased morbidity, shortened lives, and lower self-reported health even when their health insurance status is similar to whites.(4, 6) Furthermore, minority elders face significant barriers to quality health care because of more limited financial resources and diminished health care access and follow up.(7)

The National Institute on Aging has funded six National Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research.(8) These flagship programs have served an important mission through their commitment to 1) including minority elders in aging research designed to reduce and eliminate disparities, 2) developing the methodology and measures to accurately assess health and predict important outcomes in minority elders, and 3) developing investigators committed to careers in minority aging research. The literature suggests minority elders struggle with greater physical disability and functional limitations.(9) Interdisciplinary scholarship and social research focusing on subpopulations of the aging minority (e.g., in rural and inner city areas) and addressing economic, housing, and urban planning issues is critically important.(10) Local, state, and federal funding for minority aging research, including facilitation of public/private partnerships, is needed. Substantial, sustained efforts to improve the health and well-being of these understudied and vulnerable populations can help the nation’s health status and hopefully 3
our international standing. Both translation of what is known and research on open issues to gain useful new knowledge are needed for more effective policy initiatives in an age- and culturally-sensitive context.

Of course, the determinants of health in the elderly do not begin to act only after reaching age 65. Nevertheless, it is never too late to practice healthier behaviors, promote better health, and prevent chronic and acute diseases. Thirty years ago we showed that the reduction in relative risk from stopping smoking was just as great in people 65 and older participating in the Coronary Artery Surgery Study population (CASS) as among 55-64 and 35-54 year-olds. Moreover, due to the much higher rates of heart attacks and deaths, the absolute benefit in lives saved was far greater per 1000 persons among the elderly.(11) This result was so striking that it was highlighted in the President’s Budget presented to Congress for FY91.

A robust, innovative research agenda to promote successful aging for all should utilize a representative and diverse population across the life span with translational research from bench to bedside and clinic to community to policy--engaging laypersons, clinicians, researchers, and policymakers.(12, 13) Emerging issues that threaten quality of life and public health for millions of Americans such as pain and Alzheimer’s Disease, have received increased awareness and new legislation designed to address knowledge deficits and research funding (e.g., National Pain Care Policy Act of 2009 and the Comprehensive Alzheimer’s Breakthrough Act of 2009), but translation to broader communities is lacking.(13-15) Effective and highly respected participants from the community under study is also critical.(16) In addition, health policy research should work in concert with bench, bedside, and community researchers using4
community-based participatory research principles to address the most perplexing issues (e.g., aging in place, end of life and palliative care) in an interdisciplinary fashion.

Policy initiatives focusing on minority aging are sorely lacking. Often the special implications for minority elders are not even considered. The impact on and discussions including minority elders have attracted minimal attention, for example, during the recent economic meltdown, health care reform debates, and rhetoric about death panels. All in all, there seems to be a continuing failure to recognize that the overall well-being of America is intimately intertwined with the health status of those who are vulnerable, carry an unequal burden, and tend to be unseen and unheard. This situation continues despite increased awareness about increasing social and economic inequalities, clinician variability in decision-making based upon age, race, gender, and class, and many health professionals’ reports of feeling poorly equipped to address the needs of a diverse society in a culturally competent manner.(17, 18) These last points emphasize the importance of workforce preparation, on-the-job training, and diversity issues. For an aging and diverse society, there is a disconnect between such policy goals as the Healthy People 2010 metrics and the fragile academic pipeline, research funding, and service programs to help our country achieve Healthy People 2020 objectives, especially for older adults in reducing functional limitations.(19, 20)

As we turn our attention to implementing the 2010 healthcare reform legislation, we must commit to address health disparities at all ages from children to the elderly. Health promotion, disease prevention, improvements in the health care delivery system, and fundamental enhancements of the social and economic determinants of health all require a health disparities
lens. Nowhere is that lens needed more than in research, policy, and community engagement for minority elders.

REFERENCES
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