By Nancy Belle
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE
In their continued efforts to understand and meet the needs of the 65-plus population, Erickson HealthSM—the nation’s largest integrated health service group—contracted with SNS Marketing to conduct a health opinion telephone survey of this age group in five major cities: Boston, Chicago, Charlotte, Denver, and Phoenix.
The study’s goal was to assess their overall health, evaluate how active they are, understand what is important to them, what they fear most, and measure their satisfaction with their doctors and health systems.
Good health starts here
Those interviewed said they are generally in good overall health. Specifically, 55% are in excellent or very good health, and another 30% are in good health. More importantly, the majority of those interviewed (80%) say their health has remained about the same over the past six months.
Only 15% are in fair or poor health; this was mostly in the over–75 group who also said their health is worse now than it was six months ago.
One-third of those interviewed have one chronic condition for which they are currently being treated, while another 22% have two conditions. The good news is that over a fourth of those interviewed are not being treated for any chronic conditions.
Who’s responsible for your health?
When asked who takes care of “your health,” there were differences. People in Denver (84%), Phoenix (84%), and Charlotte (81%) are more likely to be responsible for their own health than those living in Boston, where 74% take responsibility for their own health. Also, as age increases, the number of those responsible for their own health decreases (88% of those 65-69, 82% of those 70-74, and 72% of those 75-plus).
What’s important
At this stage in their lives, the vast majority said being independent (92%), financially stable (91%), and keeping active (90%) are most important to them. Meanwhile, just more than 80% gave similar importance ratings for:
• Staying physically fit (85%);