This research examines the concept of home health care (HHC) services delivery for the elderly. HHC is examined as an alternative to institutional delivery of health care services. The focus in this examination is on the delivery of long term care (LTC) to chronically ill individuals.
HEALTH CARE NEEDS AND COSTS OF THE ELDERLY
The average life span in the United States increased from an expected 70 years in 1960 to 79 years in the late 1980s. The expected life span for women is greater than that for men. Additionally, the expected life span applied to individuals born in the year for which the statistic is determined not for those individuals already in their elderly years. A similar life expectancy increase, however, developed with respect to all age groups in the American population.
Between 1970 and 1980, the total population of the United States grew by 11.3 percent (Paxton, 1988). That segment of the population aged 65 years old or older increased by 27.5 percent (U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 1986). Thus, the problems and costs associated with the delivery of health care services to the elderly in the United States will likely increase in the future, during the remaining years of the twentieth century.
Advances in medical technology radically changed many treatments in the 1970s and 1980s. While the quality level of health care improved as a result of these technological advances, the cost of care increased significantly for the same reason. Cost increases resulting from medical and biological advances are due to:
1. An increase in the level of treatment and care provided to individuals.
2. Increases in the costs of health care services, as a result of: (a) more costly equipment; (b) increased training levels required for medical personnel; and (c) an increased complexity in the medical treatment procedures employed. ...