Referencing the premature aging of people who are incarcerated, the term “geriatric” is applied to people age fifty-five or older.
This group, which accounted for 8.5 percent of all detainees in 2019, is more than three times as likely as younger detainees to have a major medical or mental health diagnosis.
“Jail systems need to implement safety and care measures to accommodate elders who do end up in jail,” the authors conclude.
Bor explains that as the proportion of older adults in the nation’s prisons grows, policy makers struggle to meet their health and social needs. He indicates that it costs far more to incarcerate an elderly person than a younger one, mostly because of higher medical expenses.
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Today in Health Affairs Forefront, Mary Ersek writes about nursing home care quality. She highlights how nursing home work has traditionally been characterized by low wages and
poor benefits, inadequate training, and low staff-to-resident ratios.
To improve the quality of care for patients, Ersek recommends investing in the workforce and prioritizing recruitment, retention, and compensation.
The series discusses ways to extend the use of tools for clinical and economic evaluation beyond medical technologies to the services and procedures that account for the bulk of health care spending.
Earlier this week, we launched Health Affairs Insider, a membership offering exclusive access to content beyond the journal.
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Health Affairs is the leading peer-reviewedjournalat the intersection of health, health care, and policy. Published monthly by Project HOPE, the journal is available in print and online. Late-breaking
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Project HOPE is a global health and humanitarian relief organization that places power in the hands of local health care workers to save lives across the globe. Project HOPE has published Health Affairs since 1981.
