Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Survey provides a glimpse of state’s generally happy seniors

The typical Nevadan over 50 visits family and friends two to three times a week, hits the casinos at least weekly, attends a place of worship twice a month and regularly surfs the Internet, according to a UNLV survey that is the most comprehensive study yet of aging Nevadans.

As a lot, they sound generally happy. Most feel in control of their own lives, feel safe in their neighborhoods and drive themselves around town, the survey found.

More than two-thirds rate their health as being good to excellent - even though half are being treated for a chronic illness such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease and arthritis. Close to 20 percent serve as a primary caregiver, either for a family member over age 60 or a child under 18.

The survey of 2,626 seniors asked 80 questions about health care needs, economic concerns, transportation issues, crime, social networks and seniors' overall habits.

"State agencies are using the data in their planning and budget processes to better address the needs of seniors, and UNLV professors are mining the data for research projects.

"We haven't even begun to scratch the surface," Pamela Gallion, director of the Cannon Survey Center, said of her 111-page draft report.

Gallion hopes the data will serve as a baseline for future studies, in order to help the state prepare for a rapidly aging Baby Boomer generation.

Between 720,000 and 740,000 people in Nevada are 50 and older, according to 2006 population estimates. The senior population is growing significantly faster than the population as a whole, and in the next few years, the ratio of seniors to the rest of the population is expected to surpass national averages.

"We are getting older, and we are attracting older people," said state Assemblywoman Kathy McClain, D-Las Vegas, a management analyst in the senior services division of Clark County Social Services.

McClain said the survey, paid for with $43,705 in tobacco-settlement money, was crucial to identifying public policy needs for local and state agencies and the state Legislature. The state Division for Health and Human Services is using the survey to decide how to best allocate grants to meet future needs, deputy director Mary Liveratti said.

Carla Sloan, state director for AARP of Nevada, said the survey would help the state meet gaps in care for seniors and help organizations like hers better advocate for their needs.

The study paints an overall positive picture of seniors in the state but found several disparities, including a large number of people between age 50 and 64 without insurance, and a large number of seniors needing assistance with disabilities who are not getting help.

About 6 percent of seniors are without health insurance, representing about 43,000 people. More than 83 percent of that group are under age 65, waiting for Medicare to kick in - and many are putting off doctor visits because they are uninsured.

If those seniors wait until they are 65 to start being treated for potentially chronic conditions, Medicare resources will be hit hard, said Charles Moseley, chairman of the department of health care administration and policy in UNLV's School of Public Health. Moseley is one of at least four professors analyzing the data in larger research projects.

The other major disparity that emerged in the survey is that about 8 percent of seniors, or 57,000 people, need assistance for one or more daily activities - yet only about one is six of them receive any in-home care. Most of the seniors need help with nonmedical needs, such as homemaking or personal care services.

McClain said she will pursue legislation to help those seniors access help, perhaps through a subsidy program to help them pay for services based on their income.

"It's cheaper to keep them in their homes for longer than to have to put them in a nursing home," McClain said.

The draft report is available online at surveys.unlv.edu , under current projects.

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