Online Program

Oral

America’s Health Rankings is the longest running annual assessment of the nation’s health on a state-by-state basis. Although 2014 marks the 25th annual publication of America’s Health Rankings, it is just the second year of the Senior Report. The goal of America’s Health Rankings Senior Report is to create widespread awareness of where states stand on important public health measures, hoping to encourage communities, governments, organizations, and individuals to take action to improve the health of seniors. An ongoing index of senior health also allows decision makers to broadly monitor progress made by health-promoting policies and initiatives for senior health. America’s Health Ranking Senior Report includes more than 30 health measures, including both determinants and outcomes of health. The session will provide a cross-section of the Senior Report’s holistic model of senior health, and explore geographic variation in multiple areas of senior health. The first segment will explore state-level health behaviors and relationships with health status, preventable hospitalization, and premature death. To provide a snapshot of end-of-life care across the country, we discuss variation in hospital death rates and hospice utilization. We examine variation in premature mortality and characteristics of states with low premature mortality, and finally explore community measures and senior-specific health behaviors as predictors of preventable hospitalization on the population level. By communicating state-level patterns in health determinants and outcomes, we aim to help individuals, public health professionals, and community decision makers to identify potential targets and improve the health of their senior population and state as a whole.

Session Objectives: Describe geographic variation in senior smoking, obesity, physical inactivity, hospice use, hospital deaths, and premature mortality. Identify associations between health behaviors and self-reported health status. Identify which community characteristics and health behaviors are associated with high rates of premature death and preventable hospitalizations among seniors.

CE Credits: Medical (CME), Health Education (CHES), Nursing (CNE), Public Health (CPH)