The majority of all health-care dollars are spent on older adults because of the needs of this life stage. However, population aging consultant Lee Anne Davies (PhD Aging, Health and Well-being ’13) says this doesn’t always translate into older adults getting the health care they need.
The problem, says Davies. is that we think too narrowly about health care. By contrast, her work in digital health uses data to examine the many factors that influence health. “I don’t just look at the aging population and their health, but the whole system around them. My work provides the glue for the important pieces that contribute to the health of older people.”
Davies examines, for instance, the effectiveness of the care workers who provide personal support to older adults. “These people are important in the lives of older adults in the most intimate ways, so we have to make sure this part of the system works well, especially if we want to keep people out of emergency and acute care.”
Data is also helpful in an increasingly complex health environment where family and communities are not always able to play the supporting role they once did. “We can digitally track indicators of people’s health that give early warnings of medical issues. On the service delivery side, we can follow a person through the system, ensuring all needs are met, and that both caregiver and recipient are safe. Data enables services to be delivered in ways we hadn’t previously imagined.”
With the population of older adults growing, as well as finite resources and an older population that increasingly demands quality of care, Davies says an integrated approach is necessary. “The future requires a system, not a stand-alone approach. We need to think about where we’re going and how we get there so we can create an environment that supports all the needs of older adults.”
