Library

Reports: Health

2024 Home and Community Preferences Survey: A National Survey of Adults Age 18-Plus
AARP, January 2025, 45 pp.
This survey focuses on the needs and wants of older adults with regard to housing, transportation, outdoor spaces, and social engagement and isolation. more info >

Older Americans: Key Indicators of Well-Being
Federal Interagency Forum on Aging Related Statistics, December 2024, 122 pp.
Biennial report that provides a comprehensive picture of older adults' health and well-being in the United States. It uses data from over a dozen national data sources to construct five broad indicators of well-being for older adults (population, economics, health status, health risks and behaviors and health care) and to monitor changes in these indicators over time. more info >

America's Health Rankings: Senior Report 2024
United Health Foundation, July 2024, 35 pp.
This report provides a comprehensive analysis of senior population health on a national and state-by-state basis across 62 measures of senior health. This year's report includes finds that America’s older adults make progress in measures of social connectedness and access to clinical care but struggle with socioeconomic barriers. more info >

Working While Caregiving: It’s Complicated
S&P Global, AARP, May 2024, 21 pp.
This study explores the workplace experiences of caregivers and how they use employer-provided benefits and policies to remain successful at work while providing care at home. It examines challenges of balancing work and caregiving and policies that can ease the burdens in the workplace. more info >

2024 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures
Alzheimer's Association, February 2024, 149 pp.
An annual report on U.S. data related to Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. This report includes a summary of current knowledge about Alzheimer's disease, information on prevalence, mortality and lifetime risk of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, and the experiences of primary care physicians related to Alzheimer's and dementia. more info >

More Than a Feeling: How Social Connection Protects Health in Later Life
Population Reference Bureau, February 2024, 4 pp.
This brief explores recent research on social connection and health supported by the National Institute on Aging. The findings show how social ties bolster health—from slowing aging and boosting cancer-fighting hormones to preventing depression and protecting memory. This evidence can inform interventions to support longer and healthier lives for older Americans. more info >

Fact Sheet: Aging in the United States
Population Reference Bureau, January 2024, 3 pp.
This report examines recent trends and disparities among adults ages 65 and older, and how baby boomers will reshape America’s older population. more info >

Profile of Older Americans
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Aging, November 2023, 20 pp.
National data profile of older adults, including living arrangements, racial and ethnic composition, geographic distribution, income, poverty, housing, employment, education, health and health care, disability, and caregiving. New reports are issued annually. more info >

Innovation and Opportunity, 2023: A State Scorecard on Long-term Services and Supports for Older Adults, People with Physical Disabilities, and Family Caregivers
AARP, September 2023, 184 pp.
Measures state-level performance of long-term services and supports from the viewpoint of user services and their families. more info >

Vital Voices: Issues That Impact North Dakota Adults Age 45 and Older
AARP North Dakota, July 2023, 26 pp.
Vital Voices delivers state-specific data on the needs and opinions of older adults regarding health, caregiving, economic security, and other issues in order to inform policy and program development. more info >

More Older Adults, More Complex Needs: 2023 Chartbook
National Association of Area Agencies of Aging, May 2023, 44 pp.
This report summarizes findings from the 2023 National Survey of Area Agencies on Aging, which presents trends and information on AAA staffing, services, new and innovative programs, and more. The accompanying 28 state reports highlight state-level data. more info >

Life Expectancy Is Increasingly Tied to a State's Policy Leanings
Population Reference Bureau, January 2023
This report examines state-level policies and laws that affect residents' life expectancy, including those related to factors such as minimum wages, tobacco taxes, gun safety, and the environment, more info >

Family Caregiver Considerations for the Future of Hospital at Home Programs
AARP Public Policy Institute, August 2022, 13 pp.
The Hospital at Home (HaH) model shifts care into the home setting and delivers acute hospital-level care to eligible patients where they live instead of in a hospital. This brief presents four detailed Family Caregiver Considerations that HaH models can incorporate into policy and program design to best support patients and family caregivers. more info >

Older Adults’ Preparedness to Age in Place: National Poll on Healthy Aging
Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, April 2022, 4 pp.
Results from a national survey asking adults age 50–80 about their perspectives on aging in place, their homes, and available social supports. more info >

The Growing Socioeconomic Gap in Lifetime Social Security Retirement Benefits: Current and Future Retirees
Journals of Gerontology B, Oxford Academic, October 2021, 11 pp.
Explores the widening gap between lifetime Social Security benefits received based on socioeconomic status and gender. more info >

Caregiving in a Diverse America: Beginning to Understand the Systemic Challenges Facing Family Caregivers
National Alliance for Caregiving, October 2021, 44 pp.
Based on data from the report "Caregiving in the U.S. 2020," this report expands upon the diverse experiences of family caregivers and provides important policy recommendations to help aid family caregivers in their important tasks. more info >

Meeting the Needs of Today’s Older Adults
National Association of Area Agencies of Aging, December 2020, 36 pp.
This report summarizes findings from the 2019 National Survey of Area Agencies on Aging, which gathered information on staffing, budget and services, as well as new and innovative initiatives underway at many AAAs across the country. more info >

Caregiving in the United States 2020
National Alliance for Caregiving, May 2020, 107 pp.
This report provides detailed profiles of different subpopulations of family caregivers, including information on caregivers age 75 and older, higher hour caregivers, male and female caregivers, and multicultural caregivers. It also explores the financial and workplace challenges facing caregivers. more info >

Redesigning Retirement and Human Resource Programs to Support Longer Lives
Stanford Center on Longevity, October 2019, 8 pp.
Explores ways in which employers can redesign their retirement and benefit programs and human resource policies to meet the needs of older workers and enhance the productivity of an aging workforce. more info >

Home Alone Revisited: Family Caregivers Providing Complex Care
AARP Public Policy Institute, April 2019, 63 pp.
The role of family caregivers has dramatically expanded to include performing medical/nursing tasks of the kind and complexity once provided only in hospitals. The key findings outlined in this report focus on the medical/nursing tasks that family caregivers performed and the general lack of training and support they received. more info >

Caregiving in Context: A Study of Family, Friend, and Community Caregivers' Networks of Support
Wilder Research, February 2019, 2 pp.
Summary of a survey that gathered information about caregivers’ connections with both formal and informal supports, the sources and means of getting information related to their needs, as well as the events and circumstances that shaped their caregiving experience. more info >

Serving America's Older Adults
National Association of Area Agencies of Aging, July 2017, 44 pp.
This report summarizes findings from the 2016 National Survey of Area Agencies on Aging, which gathered information on staffing, budget and services, as well as new and innovative initiatives underway at many AAAs across the country. more info >

How Neighborhoods Affect the Health and Well-Being of Older Americans
Population Reference Bureau, February 2017, 12 pp.
A growing body of research shows that living in disadvantaged neighborhoods--characterized by high poverty--is associated with weak social ties, problems accessing health care and other services, reduced physical activity, health problems, mobility limitations, and high stress. This report summarizes recent research on the association between neighborhood conditions and the health and well-being of older adults. more info >

Meeting the Dietary Needs of Older Adults: Exploring the Impact of the Physical, Social, and Cultural Environment: Workshop Summary
The National Academies Press, July 2016, 155 pp.
Summarizes information gathered at a workshop on Meeting the Dietary Needs of Older Adults. Discusses how access to healthy food is impacted by geographic, financial, and transportation barriers. more info >

The Unmet Need for Care: Vulnerability Among Older Adults
Carsey School of Public Policy, University of New Hampshire, April 2016, 6 pp.
This brief explores factors in the unmet need for care among older adults. Many older adults are frail, have difficulty meeting their daily needs, and do not have family members or friends to turn to in times of need. Unmarried individuals and those who live alone are more likely than others to need care but not receive it. more info >

Capacity to Care - Caregiver Services
Wilder Research, January 2016, 38 pp.
The Amherst H. Wilder Foundation identified caregiving as a strategic priority and developed services to support caregivers and strengthen resources. The replication guide describes Wilder's activities to implement this initiative, the outputs achieved, resources necessary for launching each component, and lessons learned. more info >

Addressing the Health Needs of an Aging America: New Opportunities for Evidence-Based Policy Solutions
The Stern Center for Evidence-Based Policy, July 2015, 136 pp.
This study maps health policy recommendations for the aging to the body of research evidence. Researchers conducted a scoping study and policy scan to identify unique stakeholder policy recommendations and studies related to the health of the aging population. An expert panel then used these results to organize the information into 10 usable policy categories, presenting a comprehensive view of the best-available evidence and policy activity around healthcare for older adults. more info >

The Livability Economy: People, Places, and Prosperity
AARP, July 2015, 28 pp.
This report shows how livability initiatives contribute to improved economic performance and a more vibrant, desirable, and competitive environment for housing and commercial investment. The framework of the report focuses on design factors that feature four livability outcomes that benefit older adults and people of all ages, including compactness, integration of land uses, housing diversity, and transportation options. more info >

Housing an Aging Rural America: Rural Seniors and Their Homes
Housing Assistance Council, October 2014, 48 pp.
This report explores the impact that a rapidly aging rural population will have on social, economic, and housing systems. Most seniors wish to remain and age in their homes as long as possible, but rural elders are increasingly experiencing challenges with housing affordability and quality. Rural communities will need to develop a range of housing options in order to enhance the lives of seniors and provide cost-effective options. more info >

Web sites

AARP Livability Index
The AARP Livability Index scores neighborhoods and communities across the U.S. on indicators related to housing, environment, transportation, safety, health services, and more. more info >