African-American elders. Implications for health care providers

With the demographic projections that are expected in the next century, health care professionals of all disciplines will be caring for a large group of older African Americans. Most will be women with multiple chronic illnesses that are, and will continue to be, influenced by a number of factors, including race, gender, and socioeconomic status. Although the data we have on older African Americans have increased significantly over the past several years, a great need for studies that examine the complexities of race, health risks, and disease course still exists. Health-care providers will begin to avoid stereotypes as they begin to appreciate the diversity of this group, which will become especially important as the characteristics of the current cohort of elders changes in the coming years. It is clear that more and more African Americans are living longer and are in better health. An examination of those determinants of successful aging that might be applied to elders of all racial and ethnic backgrounds must occur. It will be imperative that all facets of the established medical system begin to provide and plan for culturally sensitive health care and services, which will require data, both quantitative and qualitative, that defines the characteristics of older African Americans along with their health-service needs. Health professional schools will have to adapt curricula to include issues of ethnogeriatrics to ensure that all providers are prepared to meet the challenge of providing culturally sensitive health care.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)