The Need for Long Term Care: Information and Issues. A Chartbook of the Federal Council on Aging.

Characteristics of the expected 55 million elderly Americans in the year 2050 can be predicted with some accuracy. The proportion of elderly blacks will increase, while the ratio of women to men will remain at three to one, with a higher ratio at the higher age levels. Educational levels will also rise significantly. Current information indicates that between 15-25% of the elderly have significant symptoms of mental illness and need assistance in carrying out their daily living tasks. The elderly also have more health problems and use more health services than the general population. In terms of informal support systems or individuals, approximately 75% of the elderly men and 37% of the elderly women live with a spouse. Nearly 41% of the elderly women live alone. Elderly persons have many contacts with their children, and support from children is likely to increase over the next 30 years as the childlessness rate declines. Long-term care efforts continue to have difficulty in coordinating programs with a specific focus on the individual. Public policy must determine how to make the delivery of long-term care services more responsive to the needs of those requiring such care. (Author/NRB)