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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Older Adults

Goal: Improve health and well-being for older adults.

An older man sits on a couch while his wife leans over the back of the couch and hugs him.

By 2060, almost a quarter of the U.S. population will be age 65 or older.1 Healthy People 2030 focuses on reducing health problems and improving quality of life for older adults.

Older adults are at higher risk for chronic health problems like diabetes, osteoporosis, and Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, 1 in 4 older adults fall each year, and falls are a leading cause of injury for this age group.2 Physical activity can help older adults prevent both chronic disease and fall-related injuries.

Older adults are also more likely to go to the hospital for some infectious diseases — including pneumonia, which is a leading cause of death for this age group. Making sure older adults get preventive care, including vaccines to protect against the flu and pneumonia, can help them stay healthy.

Objective Status

  • 1 Target met or exceeded
  • 1 Improving
  • 0 Little or no detectable change
  • 2 Getting worse
  • 13 Baseline only
  • 3 Developmental
  • 0 Research

Learn more about objective types

Related Objectives

The following is a sample of objectives related to this topic. Some objectives may include population data.

Older Adults — General

Increase the proportion of older adults with physical or cognitive health problems who get physical activity — OA‑01
Baseline only
Reduce the rate of pressure ulcer-related hospital admissions among older adults — OA‑04
Baseline only
Reduce the rate of hospital admissions for diabetes among older adults — OA‑05
Baseline only

Dementias

Increase the proportion of older adults with dementia, or their caregivers, who know they have it — DIA‑01
Baseline only
Reduce the proportion of preventable hospitalizations in older adults with dementia — DIA‑02
Baseline only
Increase the proportion of adults with subjective cognitive decline who have discussed their symptoms with a provider — DIA‑03
Baseline only

Foodborne Illness

Reduce infections caused by Listeria — FS‑03
Improving

Infectious Disease

Reduce the rate of hospital admissions for urinary tract infections among older adults — OA‑07
Baseline only

Injury Prevention

Reduce fall-related deaths among older adults — IVP‑08
Getting worse
Reduce the proportion of older adults who use inappropriate medications — OA‑02
Baseline only
Reduce the rate of emergency department visits due to falls among older adults — OA‑03
Baseline only

Oral Conditions

Reduce the proportion of older adults with untreated root surface decay — OH‑04
Target met or exceeded
Reduce the proportion of adults aged 45 years and over who have lost all their teeth — OH‑05
Getting worse
Reduce the proportion of adults aged 45 years and over with moderate and severe periodontitis — OH‑06
Baseline only

Osteoporosis

Reduce hip fractures among older adults — O‑02
Baseline only
Increase the proportion of older adults who get screened for osteoporosis — O‑D01
Developmental
Increase the proportion of older adults who get treated for osteoporosis after a fracture — O‑D02
Developmental

Respiratory Disease

Reduce the rate of hospital admissions for pneumonia among older adults — OA‑06
Baseline only
Reduce hospitalizations for asthma in adults aged 65 years and over — RD‑D03
Developmental

Sensory or Communication Disorders

Reduce vision loss from age-related macular degeneration — V‑07
Baseline only

Want to track healthy aging objectives?

Healthy People 2030 features a wide variety of objectives that are directly or indirectly related to helping people stay healthy as they age. We've compiled those objectives into a custom list so they're easy for you to reference and track.

Check out our Healthy Aging Custom List

Want to learn how SDOH affect older adults?

Social determinants of health (SDOH) have a big impact on our chances of staying healthy as we age. Healthy People’s actionable scenarios highlight ways professionals can support older adults’ health and well-being.

Get tips to improve SDOH for older adults

Other topics you may be interested in

References

1.

Mather, M., Jacobsen, L.A., & Pollard, K.M. (2015). Aging in the United States. Population Reference Bureau Population Bulletin [PDF file]. Retrieved from https://www.prb.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/aging-us-population-bulletin-1.pdf

2.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024). Older Adult Falls Data. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/falls/data-research/index.html