“They’re not leaving their home; this is where they were born, this is where they will die.”: Key Informant Perspectives From the U.S. Counties With the Greatest Concentration of the Oldest Old

Carrie Henning-Smith; Megan Lahr; Jill Tanem

doi:10.1177/01640275211032387

“They’re not leaving their home; this is where they were born, this is where they will die.”: Key Informant Perspectives From the U.S. Counties With the Greatest Concentration of the Oldest Old

Carrie Henning-Smith, Megan Lahr, Jill Tanem

Health Policy and Management

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

The “oldest old,” age 85 and older, constitute one of the fastest growing segments of the U.S. population. Yet, surprisingly little is known about the characteristics of U.S. counties with the highest percentage of the oldest old, nearly all of which are rural. We used qualitative analysis of key informant interviews (n = 50) with county commissioners and other county-level representatives from rural counties with the highest prevalence of the oldest old, targeting the 54 rural counties with ≥5% of the population age 85+. We found that the rural counties with the highest proportion of residents age 85+ face unique challenges to supporting successful aging among the oldest old, including resource constraints, limited services, isolated locations, and widespread service areas. Still, interviewees identified particular reasons why the oldest old remain in their counties, with many highlighting positive aspects of rural environments and community.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	312-322
Number of pages	11
Journal	Research on Aging
Volume	44
Issue number	3-4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/01640275211032387
State	Published - Mar 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This study was supported by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under PHS Grant No. 5U1CRH03717. The information, conclusions and opinions expressed in this paper are those of the authors and no endorsement by FORHP, HRSA, or HHS is intended or should be inferred.

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2021.

Keywords

aging in place
housing
rural
service delivery

PubMed: MeSH publication types

Journal Article
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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“They’re not leaving their home; this is where they were born, this is where they will die.”: Key Informant Perspectives From the U.S. Counties With the Greatest Concentration of the Oldest Old. / Henning-Smith, Carrie ; Lahr, Megan; Tanem, Jill.
In: Research on Aging, Vol. 44, No. 3-4, 03.2022, p. 312-322.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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“They’re not leaving their home; this is where they were born, this is where they will die.”: Key Informant Perspectives From the U.S. Counties With the Greatest Concentration of the Oldest Old

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

PubMed: MeSH publication types

UN SDGs

Access

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