Short-term Outcomes:Connection with Health and Social Services in California
Older adults’ connections to high-quality health and social services can improve health outcomes, increase social support and reduce social isolation, and help maintain independence and quality of life.
Three in ten older adults with low incomes experience food insecurity.
Nine in ten older adults saw a health care provider in the last year.
Low Income Older Adults Experiencing Food Insecurity
Over 770,000 older adults with low incomes — a number comparable to about half the population of San Diego, California — experienced food insecurity in 2022.
About 30 percent of older adults who have low incomes (less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level [FPL]) experience food insecurity, meaning they don’t have enough money to regularly purchase nutritious food. Although the proportion of older adults with food insecurity declined slightly through 2020, older adults who identify as American Indian or Alaska Native or live in rural areas experienced an increase in food insecurity.
Accelerated Action:
If California maintains current trends, the expectation would be for about 25 percent of older adults to experience food insecurity in 2030. Accelerating action would realize a goal of 20 percent or an additional 130,000 older adults who would no longer be food insecure.
Older Adults who Saw or Talked with a Doctor about Their Health, Past Year
Most older adults saw a health care provider last year, which is promising for early detection and ongoing monitoring of health conditions, and for screening for health-related social needs.
About 92 percent of older adults ages 65 years or older saw a health care provider in 2022, similar to the percentage reported ten years ago. However, about 680,000 older adults did not connect with the health system in the past year.
In general, older adults who identified as Black or African American, other single race, or more than one race; who speak a language other than English at home; or have an income below the Federal Poverty Level were less likely to see a health care provider in the past year. It is important to note that even within these populations, the majority did report seeing a doctor.
Accelerated Action:
If California maintains current trends, the expectation would be for about 93 percent of adults ages 65 and older to see a health care provider at least once in a year. Accelerating action would result in a goal of 98 percent, or an additional 484,000 older adults who would be connected to the health system. Achieving further improvement will be challenging and require tailored approaches that also help individuals connect to a usual source of care to conduct their annual wellness visit.
Call to Action!
Want to learn how you can help make a difference? Consider the following activities and ideas.
Funders
- Fund culturally and linguistically appropriate programs that help connect individuals with social services that meet their needs.
- Fund community and advocacy work to drive structural changes that facilitate connections to health and social services, with a focus on marginalized communities.
- Support the collection and sharing of data on the number of older adults who access a range of social services. Data are available on a program-by-program basis, precluding a more complete understanding of access to such services.
- Ensure that data can be disaggregated by race and other characteristics to better identify and mitigate disparities.
- Fund studies to better understand access and utilization barriers that can arise even after someone has been referred to or connected with services (e.g., waitlists, income requirements, language accessibility, and cultural competency).
Policymakers
- Support policies and modify program requirements to minimize barriers that older adults might face in connecting with services that provide healthy food and address other social needs.
- Ensure programs are specifically designed to reach and engage older Black, Indigenous, and people of color.
- Strengthen avenues and modalities to deliver health care that is responsive to the needs of older adults, such as increased access to telehealth, in order to meet older adults where they are.
Advocates
- Champion policies that reduce food insecurity, such as investing in nutrition assistance programs and screening for food insecurity through other services.
- Lead culturally and linguistically appropriate educational efforts for older adults and policymakers to promote the benefits of annual visits, preventative care, and screening among older adults who may seek care only for acute problems.