The senior citizen population is growing rapidly. Baby Boomers are beginning to enter the Golden Years and invade these numbers. Though many Seniors are uncomfortable using computers and the Internet, others sail around it, comfortably and with great ease, daily.
One important issue is how to get information to Senior citizens.
First, who are they, (um,…that may include “we”)?
Here are some of their fast facts:
Older Americans born 1939 and earlier
• 65-75 born 1929-1939 – 19,890,612
• 76-85 born 1919-1928 – 12,024,034
• 85+ born 1918 and earlier – 4,071,236 Total number 65 & up – 35,986,082
• Represents 12.6% of the total population, or about 1 in 8 people
• 42% Male (15,117,585)
• 58% Female (20,868,497)
• Those 85+ were 1.5% of the population in 2000, and by 2050 will be almost 5% of the total U.S. population.
• The “oldest old,” those aged 85 and over, are the most rapidly growing elderly age group, growing 274% between 1960 and 1994.
• By 2030, the 65+ population will more than double to about 71.5 Million, and by 2050 will grow to 86.7 Million. (Based on 2004 projections)
http://seniorjournal.com/NEWS/SeniorStats/5-04-10QuickFacts.htm 11/21/08
In the U.S.A.
The most recently updated demographic profile for America was released by Nielsen. Accordingly, the numbers in percent terms are:
Male : 48.48%
Women : 51.52%
Age Groups:
02-11 : 9.26%
12-17 : 12.69%
18-24 : 7.07%
25-34 : 12.8%
35-49 : 26.99%
55+ : 22.54%
65+ : 9.67%
http://techcrunchies.com/wp-content/themes/internetcenter/images/arrow.gif 24 May 08 Demographics
http://techcrunchies.com/category/demographics/ (Interesting demographic information here.)
Sites
http://www.refdesk.com/seniors.html http://www.todaysseniors.com/
http://www.internetseniorsuccess.com/seniorsites.htm http://seniorcitizenretirement.net/
http://aginggrandparents.suite101.com/article.cfm/fun_activities_for_senior_citizens
http://www.entourages.com/barbs/senior.htm
findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4176/is_/ai_n14575282 Expressing creativity good for senior citizen health http://www.nia.nih.gov National Institute of Aging
http://http://nihseniorhealth.gov/ http://www.wppl.org/resources/websites/seniors.html
There are also two articles (accessible from the UW libraries). First...
"Attempting to locate and evaluate quality health care information can pose a variety of problems for the consumer." (p. 221) Creating and developing an outreach program "designed to address search problems and information interpretation problems" (p. 221) might help senior citizens with their access interests. Although this is an incompletely developed program, it has application potential in a number of library settings and potentially partnering with health care professionals and other supportive services.
Question: How can the plan be adapted to the public library setting for Senior Citizens? Or can it? Although this is an academic library focused article, is it feasible to adapt it to the public library setting? What considerations would need to me made, if any? Would this be a good candidate for blending or partnering with additional services?
The second article is
Capel, S., Childs, S., Banwell, L., & Heaford, S. ( 2007, December) Access to information and support for health: Some potential issues and solutions for an ageing population. Health Informatics Journal 13 (4): 243-253
This article focuses on older populations' access to computer information and the necessity to provide technology to empower senior citizen information accessibility. Paramount to handy access in training seniors is acknowledging and appropriately addressing variable physical, comprehension and general information needs. While this is a UK focused article, the principles remain the same on this side of the pond. "...[I]nformation seeking is part of people's normal social and every day activities and takes place within social and family networks....Training sessions [are] considered social activities for the older people, leading to a more successful learning environment." (p. 250)
Question: What does the article tell about the potential access for Senior Citizens in the present and future scenarios? What needs to be done to help Senior Citizens and how can the public library help in this?
Onward and upward
* As we rocket our way into the future, let us have a little compassion and understanding because they will in all likelihood be us. *
More interesting information about Seniors...
Facts about Senior Citizens Packaged by Census Bureau May is Older Americans Month and here are facts seniors may not know April 26, 2006 - Older Americans Month originated with a presidential proclamation in May 1963 and has been proclaimed by presidents each year since. Last year, President Bush stated, “Older Americans teach us the timeless lessons of courage, sacrifice and love. By sharing their wisdom and experience, they serve as role models for future generations. During Older Americans Month, we pay tribute to our senior citizens and their contributions to our nation.”
36.3 million The number of people 65 and older in the United States on July 1, 2004. This age group accounted for 12 percent of the total population. Between 2003 and 2004, the size of this age group increased by 351,000 people.
86.7 million Projected population of people 65 and older in the year 2050. People in this age group would comprise 21 percent of the total population at that time.
147% Projected percentage increase in the 65-and-older population between 2000 and 2050. By comparison, the population as a whole would have increased by only 49 percent over the same period.
483 million Current world population age 65 and older. Projections indicate the number will increase to 974 million by 2030.
Income and Wealth
$108,885 Median net worth in 2000 of households with householders 65 and older. In contrast, householders under the age of 35 had a median household net worth of $7,240.
$24,509 Median 2004 income of households with householders 65 and older, statistically unchanged, in real terms, from the previous year.
9.8% Poverty rate for people 65 and older in 2004, down 0.4 percentage points from the previous year.
39% Percentage of total annual personal income of people 65 and older that comes from Social Security payments. Serving Our Nation
9.1 million Estimated number of people age 65 and older who are military veterans.(Source: American FactFinder)
Jobs
5 millionNumber of people age 65 and older who are in the labor force. <http://www.census.gov/statab/www/>, (2006 edition, Table No. 577)
Education
73% Proportion of people age 65 and older in 2004 with at least a high school diploma.
19% Percentage of the population age 65 and older in 2004 who had earned a bachelor’s degree or higher education.
47,000 Number of people age 65 and older enrolled in college in October 2004. <http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/school.html>
Marital Status
56% Percentage of people age 65 and older who were married in 2004. <http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/hh-fam.html>
31% Percentage of people 65 and older who were widowed in 2004.<http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/hh-fam.html>
Voting
79% Percentage of citizens age 65 and older registered to vote in the 2004 presidential election, the highest rate of any age group. Seventy-one percent of people in this age group reported actually casting a ballot. <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/voting/004986.html>
41% Of all the votes cast in the 2040 presidential election, the projected percentage to be cast by people 65 and older. In the 2004 election, people in this age group cast 19 percent of the votes.
Homeownership
81% Proportion of householders age 65 and older in 2005 who owned their homes. This compares with 43 percent for householders at the other end of the age spectrum — under age 35.
Coming to America
3.7 million Number of U.S. foreign-born residents 65 and older in 2004.
Population Distribution Nation
72 Overall, the number of men age 65 and older on July 1, 2004, for every 100 women in this age group. For those 85 and over, it drops to 45 men per 100 women.
4.9 million The number of people 85 and older in the United States on July 1, 2004.
67,473 Estimated number of centenarians in the United States on Nov. 1, 2005.
580,605 Projected number of centenarians in the United States in 2040.
States
17% Percentage of Florida’s population that was 65 and older on July 1, 2004. Florida led all states in this category. West Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Dakota and Iowa followed closely, at 15 percent each.
4.2% Percentage increase in the number of people age 65 and older in Nevada between July 1, 2003, and July 1, 2004 — the highest in the nation. Alaska closely followed at 3.8 percent.
3.8 million Number of people 65 and older living in California on July 1, 2004, the highest total of any state. Florida, with 2.9 million, was the runner-up.
Recreation
11.3 million Number of people 65 and older who engage in exercise walking, by far the most popular sports activity for this age group, at least six times a year. The next most popular forms of exercise for this age group are exercising with equipment, net fishing, camping, golf and swimming. (People 65 and older are keeping up with younger adults; exercise walking was number one for them also.)
About 3-in-10 Of all mass market, or “pocket sized,” books purchased in 2004 by adults, the proportion bought by people age 65 and older.
Cars
78% Percentage of households with a householder age 65 and older who own a motor vehicle.
3% Percentage of households with a householder age 65 or older who have three or more cars available to use.
Computers
40% Percentage of people 65 and older who have a computer at home. 25% Percentage of people 65 and older who use the Internet.
Additional information is available at this site.11/21/2008 from http://seniorjournal.com/NEWS/SeniorStats/6-04-26-Facts
3 comments:
Regarding the Chiarella and Keefe article, I think this outreach program might be a good opportunity for public libraries and other community organizations. I think location is very important when planning programs for seniors. You want to have it in a place that will be easy for many senior citizens to get to. In the article they mentioned that the public library might be a good place to hold the workshop. There's a chance that the library may have the technology needed, and in some places it may be closer to the seniors' homes. There may also be other places in the community that are more convenient for seniors, and where they feel more comfortable going, such as a senior center. It will also be necessary for the public library to work with community organizations to get the word out about the program.
One thing I wasn't sure about was when the authors mentioned the initial surveys they would distribute. They said these would be used to measure the computer literacy skills of the senior population. What if the surveys show that the participants have low computer literacy skills, or maybe even no computer literacy skills? I know the article said the program would be adapted based on the survey results, but if participants have almost no familiarity with computers, the whole focus of the workshop may have to change. Or, the library may need to offer a different workshop on computer skills before the health resources on the web program is held.
Andi Stoneman
Andi, you make a good point regarding computer literacy and how it plays into this particular population -- I have often wished there was a good way to measure health literacy OFFline in seniors; the existing instruments for health literacy measurement are widely disliked and pretty much assume that the person completing the assessment is a patient.
This might actually be another way for libraries to become involved: partnering with the Seniors and try to evaluate and update skills (if there are any) for the Seniors. I agree that computer literacy is an issue but I think this is a place for librarian programming to have in-house classes for the seniors.
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