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P a g e
Falls are the most common cause of injury to older adults. As people live longer, remain more
active and take multiple medications, the probability of trauma caused by falls inside and
outside of the home will increase. More than one-third of adults 65 or older fall each year. Of
those who fall, 20 to 30% suffer moderate to severe injuries (such as hip fractures) that
decrease mobility and independence.
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Technology will make care more accessible to the aging population. The persons who will turn
55 over the next decade will be early participants in an era of “virtual caregivers.” Health
technology will move into the home at a steady pace. Remote monitoring and other
technologies will help keep many patients out of the hospital, and will provide communication
links with caregivers who will need new processes for monitoring the stream of information and
responding appropriately. Wearable devices will allow continuous monitoring of a patient’s
condition while he or she goes about daily activities. Monitors also can detect unusual patterns
of activity in the home and send alerts to caregivers or relatives. The aging population will be
taking multiple medications; smart pill bottles will be able to detect when they have missed a
medication and remind them or alert someone else.
What most people want at the end of their lives is well-documented—to die, as pain-free as
possible, at home with family present and to have their wishes honored. Advance care
planning is a staged, ongoing process of assisting individuals in understanding, articulating
and documenting their values as they relate to medical choices and discussing them with
family, loved ones, and providers. Advance care plans allow people to maintain control over
their medical treatment and to ensure that they receive the type of treatment they desire when
serious injury or illness prevents them from speaking for themselves. The advantages to
creating this Plan seem obvious but too few adults are aware of these documents or have
them completed. National and state data on individuals having completed advance care plans
indicate:
In spite of widespread efforts to promote advance care planning and the use of advance
directives, studies find that only 18-36% of Americans have completed an advance
directive.
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82% survey respondents say it’s important to put their end-of-life wishes in writing;
however, only 23% have actually done it.
Findings
From the Chesapeake 55+ Survey, 81% of the respondents rated their health as good or
excellent. But, from other sources, Chesapeake residents have higher rates of selected
chronic conditions than the Virginia average.
According to comparison data from the Health Resources Administration, Chesapeake has a
higher death rate for selected chronic diseases than a group of counties that have similar
demographic, economic, and geographic characteristics.
