Expenditures for unintentional injuries among the elderly

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Public Health
• Health Economics

Background:

• Unintentional injuries pose a significant health risk to the elderly population.
• Understanding the incidence, care, and costs of these injuries is crucial for public health planning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To estimate the probability, medical care types, and costs of unintentional injuries in persons aged 65 and older in 1977.
• To analyze factors influencing injury probability within this demographic.
• To project potential injury-related medical care expenditures for later years.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the 1977 National Medical Care Expenditure Survey (NMCES).
• Incorporated data from the 1977 National Nursing Home Survey (NNHS).
• Analyzed injury probability based on age, sex, and living arrangements.

Main Results:

• Identified variations in unintentional injury probability among older adults based on demographic factors.
• Estimated total medical care expenditures for elderly unintentional injuries in 1977 at over $2 billion.
• Projected 1984 injury-related medical care expenditures to be as high as $5 billion.

Conclusions:

• Unintentional injuries in the elderly are influenced by specific factors, suggesting they are not purely accidental.
• The substantial financial burden of these injuries highlights the potential economic benefits of prevention programs.
• Cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analyses support the implementation of injury reduction strategies for older adults.