Older women continue to face challenging health care issues as both the provider and the recipient of care. Women are the majority of care recipients and caregivers, and have longer life expectancies. As a result, long-term care and health care in general are top issues of concern for women today. Older women are especially vulnerable to declines in economic status after the deaths of their spouses and are twice as likely as older men to live in poverty, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. With longer lives and less spousal support, women make up the majority of formal health care users.
Women also are an important health care resource, and often the primary family caregiver.
With more women in the workplace, caregiving responsibilities become more taxing. More than half of employed caregivers report having to make work changes or accommodations to continue their caregiving, according to the National Alliance for Caregiving. The Gerontological Health Section will canvass the public health and health care communities to identify leaders in women's health who have been involved in cross-cutting themes such as health promotion and disease prevention, building bridges across generations, and reducing health disparities. Aetna U.S. Healthcare is the largest U.S. provider of health benefits, with 29 million members. Through research and advocacy, the Gerontological Health Section works to stimulate public health actions that improve the health, functioning and quality of life of older persons, and call attention to their health care needs.