Needs that were identified by older Utahns

"Older people are slightly more likely than younger people to hold an opinion on an issue” (Cox, 1993, p.292). A Utah State University Study (Mason, et al., 2002) titled "Importance of Funding for Senior Services" details the result of polling Utah's older adults on eleven specific questions:

            1- Meals programs: 80% reported that government funding is necessary to help provide adequate nutrition. Women gave this need a higher priority than did men. Furthermore, the lower the social economic status of the respondent, the higher priority this area was given.

            2- Polling those ages 55 and older, 76.7% responded that transportation services for medical appointments were very important for Senior Citizens. Once again, women reported this as a greater need than did men and the lower class respondents labeled this a greater need than did middle and upper class individuals.

            3- About 60% of respondents also reported that transportation services for shopping, including grocery shopping, were very important. The trend mentioned in area 1 and 2 above continued with regard to respondents with one surprising twist. Respondents who were at least 85 years old did not think that this type of transportation was important.

             4- Health care screening and information programs for seniors were reported as very important by 73.% of the respondents. The breakdown among respondents mirrored that of area #3 immediately above; the 85+ year olds seem to buck the trend once again.

             5- Only half of the respondents reported that recreational activities or exercise programs for seniors were important

            6- Providing housekeeping or other chores was reported to be important by slightly above half of the respondents.

            7- Minor home repairs for older Utahns rated as a priority in one half of the respondents.

            8- However, nearly two thirds of the older respondents gave a high priority to funding the senior citizen centers. Once again, those above 85 years old did not consider this area of high priority.

            9- Respite services for family caregivers of older persons were rated as a priority by two thirds of the respondents. More women found this area important than did men, and, surprisingly again, the 85+ group thought it less important.

          10- Funding assistance for the cost of legal services was supported by two thirds of the respondents. The lower class respondents found this much more important than did those of the middle and upper classes.

          11- More than three fourths of the respondents gauged funding assistance for obtaining medical benefits for older people an important priority. Gender and socio- economic status and age of the respondents followed the same pattern in this area as they did in former areas immediately above (pp.16-18).

     Although this study followed acceptable practices for social research, to the mind of the reader this study may seem somewhat inconsistent with common sense expectations. This is most especially true with regard to the 85 plus year olds. The authors of the study, however, expressed the opinion that the older age groups are possibly more independent of mind than the younger respondents. The exact words of the authors summate their feelings upon this inconsistency:

           Those ages 85 and older are least likely to consider this very important,

           perhaps reflecting a generally higher level of fiscal conservatism among

          persons in this oldest age bracket (Mason, et al., 2002, p.17).

    Although this study gives a glimpse into the needs of Utah's senior population, it is not a complete picture of what the aging network needs to be involved with. Other services and activities that Cox (1993) found to be important to older Americans that were not measured by this study include other areas addressed through the Older Americans Act:

         1. Retired Seniors Volunteer Program (RSVP)

         2. Foster Grandparent and Senior Companion Programs

         3. Friendly Visitor Program

         4. Senior Community Service Employment Program

         5. Senior Employment Services

         6. Day Care Centers

         7. Protective Care

         8. Ombudsmen (for those in a nursing home setting)

         9. Handyman Services for the Elderly

        (pp.305-309)

    Furthermore, neither of these sources mentioned education for the older adult. "Research in gerontology (the study of aging) has shown that healthy older people continue to learn as they age “(Harris, et al., 2004, p.244). To that point, this author has been invited to speak at several senior voluntary groups formed by the seniors themselves in a similar fashion to reading groups. These seniors have a strong interest in learning new things and many of them had professional careers, although not in higher education. They have made the conscious choice to keep learning new material through lectures on a weekly basis.

    While acknowledging the needs listed above, Atchley (2000) listed a few more needs: buildings and furniture designed specifically for the needs of the elderly, special equipment designed for the elderly (such as appliances), consumer protection, dental care, designing clothing for the special needs of older adults and protection from age discrimination.

      From these lists and the following lists of public and private services that are available to Davis County seniors, it is apparent that there are some needs that are not being met by the aging network of Davis County. Are they being met by the informal systems of family, neighbors, and friends?