From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
Our nation does well in ensuring that children are up to date on recommended preventive services, given that such services are a condition of school entry. However, the same cannot be said for preventive service delivery for middle-aged and older Americans. Though the benefits and effectiveness of screenings for selected cancers and immunizations for infectious diseases such as influenza and pneumococcal disease are well-documented, the percentage of adults up to date on such services remains low. This is particularly true among those ages 50 to 64, without the benefit of Medicare coverage. Adults in this age range will comprise 20 percent of the U.S. population by 2015. Strikingly, only one in four currently receives a core set of routinely recommended preventive services.
As part of a multi-faceted focus on increasing the delivery of potentially life-saving preventive services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, together with AARP and the American Medical Association, are pleased to announce the release of the report, “Promoting Preventive Services for Adults 50-64: Community and Clinical Partnerships.” A unique and innovative resource, this report identifies a core set of recommended preventive services, delineates successful strategies and programs that promote and facilitate their delivery in community settings, and provides easily-referenced national and state-level data on fourteen key indicators for tracking progress. Nine additional organizations assisted in the development of this report. The report complements but does not overlap with efforts focusing on clinical performance measures.
The information in the report should prove useful to a variety of audiences, including public health and aging services professionals, researchers, policy-makers, the media, clinicians, and mental health professionals. In highlighting critical data as well as “Calls to Action” and “Spotlights” on effective community-based strategies to promote the use of preventive services, this easy-to-use reference can assist with priority setting, program planning, health reporting, educating policymakers and the media, and grant writing. A PDF of the report is available on the website of CDC’s Healthy Aging Program at www.cdc.gov/aging. A searchable, online version of the report, including new data for over 130 local communities and links to key resources, will be available in the spring of 2010.
Among the key messages of the report is the untapped opportunity to more effectively link community organizations and clinical partners to expand the number and variety of service delivery sites and to offer multiple, “or bundled,” preventive services in community settings, e.g., provide women receiving a flu shot the opportunity to schedule a mammogram at a nearby hospital. An innovative strategy referenced in the report is:
“Vote&Vax,” www.voteandvax.org, a model pioneered by the SPARC program (Sickness Prevention Achieved through Regional Collaboration) that offers immunizations at polling places on election days.
To further strengthen efforts to enhance the delivery of preventive services, CDC is working with AARP, AMA and others to pilot evidence-based strategies, to develop a measure that reflects the extent to which individuals and populations are up to date on selected services, and to provide states and communities with documented guidance on how to implement strategies known to be effective in ensuring critical preventive services reach those they are designed to benefit. Closing the gap in the delivery of potentially lifesaving preventive services is critical to preserving and protecting the health and quality of life of our nation’s rapidly growing number of adults aged 50 and older.