Associate Professor, Division of Health Policy and Management, University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center, University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Minneapolis, Minnesota, US.
Research and Communications Fellow, Division of Health Policy and Management, University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center, University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Minneapolis, Minnesota, US.
J Aging Soc Policy. 2024 Mar 3;36(2):282-301. doi: 10.1080/08959420.2022.2081025. Epub 2022 May 28.
Ensuring the safety and social well-being of rural populations, especially rural older adults living alone with complex medical conditions, is challenging, given large, sparsely populated communities and limited resources. Using qualitative data from surveys with 42 rural Meals on Wheels programs from across the U.S., we highlight particular challenges to meeting the social and safety needs of rural older adults living alone. Respondents described challenges, opportunities, and successes in meeting the needs of their clients. We describe these under four domains: main challenges, what can be done to address social isolation and loneliness, safety issues, improving safety, and current successes. We also identify cross-cutting themes related to programs' rural environment (long distances, inclement weather), infrastructure (housing quality, access to broadband Internet and technological connectivity, road conditions), funding and resource availability, and service provision (availability of health care and partner organizations.) We describe each of these in more detail and also share policy recommendations for improving health and safety of older adults living alone in rural areas, including funding nutrition programs as a health benefit and addressing aging, poor-quality housing stock.
确保农村人口，特别是独居且患有复杂疾病的农村老年人的安全和社会福祉是具有挑战性的，因为农村地区社区规模大、人口稀少，资源有限。我们使用来自美国各地 42 个送餐计划的调查的定性数据，强调了满足独居农村老年人社会和安全需求的特殊挑战。受访者描述了满足客户需求所面临的挑战、机遇和成功。我们将这些描述为四个领域：主要挑战、解决社会孤立和孤独的方法、安全问题、提高安全性和当前的成功。我们还确定了与项目农村环境（长距离、恶劣天气）、基础设施（住房质量、宽带互联网和技术连接、道路状况）、资金和资源可用性以及服务提供（医疗保健和合作伙伴组织的可用性）相关的交叉主题。我们更详细地描述了每一个主题，并分享了改善农村地区独居老年人健康和安全的政策建议，包括将营养计划作为一项健康福利以及解决老龄化和住房质量差的问题。
