Age-Friendly Insights Poll: Older Adults Feel Good About Hospitals, But Want Age-Friendly Care
The John A. Hartford Foundation (JAHF) asked U.S. adults aged 65 or older about their opinions and experiences with hospitals. While the findings may seem surprising to some, respondents said they feel good about hospital care amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. However, older adults prefer hospitals that provide age-friendly care that focuses on what matters to them.
Download and share an overview.
Key findings include:
An overwhelming majority of older adults in America feel safe and connected to hospitals based on personal or family experiences.
- 90% said they feel positively about U.S. hospitals.
- Almost half said their opinion was informed by personal experience or the experience of a family member/friend.
- 79% of older adults said COVID-19 care positively affected their opinion of hospital care.
Most older adults who visited a hospital in the last three years said they and their family members were not asked what matters to them.
- 66% of people 65+ visited a hospital in the last three years.
- More than half (58%) of them were not asked about their goals, preferences and/or what mattered to them.
Hospitals that provide age-friendly care are preferred among most adults 65+.
Age-friendly care is care based on research about what treatments are safest and work best for older adults and is tailored to an older person’s specific needs and preferences.
- An overwhelming 81% said they want to receive care from a hospital that is recognized as age-friendly.
Today, more than 2,800 hospitals, clinics, practices and every CVS Health MinuteClinic participate in the Age-Friendly Health Systems (AFHS) initiative, which provides resources and support to participating care locations to ensure older adults receive evidence-based 4Ms care that prioritizes what matters to them.
Learn how hospitals, clinics or practices can provide age-friendly care that respects what matters most to older adults and their families.
- Find Nearby Age-Friendly Care Locations
Visit AgeFriendly.org to search for a hospital and see its quality ratings, including whether it is an Age-Friendly Health Systems participant, or view the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s (IHI) list and a map of recognized participants. - Be Recognized for Providing Age-Friendly Care
Learn more about what makes a health system age-friendly on IHI’s homepage and show your commitment to becoming recognized as an Age-Friendly Health System by joining the American Hospital Association’s AFHS Action Community, convening this fall. - Learn about other initiatives prioritizing age-friendly hospital care.
- The Geriatric Emergency Department Collaborative improves the emergency care of older adults through education and resources for emergency department staff, which can help prepare a hospital for Geriatric Emergency Department Accreditation.
- The Geriatric Surgery Verification Program provides educational resources for hospitals to meet 32 standards that optimize surgical care for older patients.
- Both programs work with the AFHS movement and have developed AFHS guides for emergency departments and surgical programs.
The poll is part of Age-Friendly Insights, a JAHF series measuring opinions on issues related to improving the care of older adults and support for family caregivers. Learn more about our other Age-Friendly Insights polls.
All organizations and individuals working to understand how older adults feel and experience care in hospitals can use this research in their own work. We appreciate your attribution to The John A. Hartford Foundation.
To learn more about the poll:
- Review the methodology and dive deeper into the data
- Read a one-page overview of the findings
- Explore graphics and social posts to spread the survey’s findings