{"id":1281,"date":"2019-12-03T12:35:25","date_gmt":"2019-12-03T17:35:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/jmontoro\/?page_id=1281"},"modified":"2020-10-15T12:26:31","modified_gmt":"2020-10-15T16:26:31","slug":"executive-summary-of-meck60","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/jmontoro\/research\/meck60-needs-assessment-2019\/executive-summary-of-meck60\/","title":{"rendered":"Executive Summary of MECK60+"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Findings from the 2018\/2019 Meck60+ survey addressing the health and service needs of people 60 and older in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, NC *<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Executive Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Section 1: Demographics<\/strong> <strong>* (Sample N = 750 adults 60+) <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Education<\/strong><b><\/b>\n<ul>\n<li>Caucasians more likely to complete graduate degrees (BA, Master) than African Americans (High School\/Associate degree) and Latinos (less than High School).<\/li>\n<li>Men more likely to complete graduate degrees than females (High School\/Associate).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Income<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Average annual family income is in the range of $30,000 to $45,000<\/li>\n<li>Caucasians report higher level of income than African Americans and Latinos.<\/li>\n<li>Women report lower family income than men do.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Living Arrangements<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>About 43% of the respondents report that they live alone.<\/li>\n<li>Women more likely to live alone (49%) than men (29%).<\/li>\n<li>African Americans more likely to live alone (52%) than Caucasians (42%) &amp; Latinos (20%).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Section 2: Health and Service Use<\/strong><strong>* (Sample N = 750 adults 60+)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Functional Health<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>About 39% of participants reported that their health (physical or mental) troubles limit their everyday activities.<\/li>\n<li>Women and minority groups report higher average of days with health troubles than men and Caucasians.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Disability<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Participants report difficulties with activity of daily living primarily with their ability to walk, and climb stairs (42.8%).<\/li>\n<li>Women and minority groups report higher levels of health difficulties than men and Caucasians.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Health Risk Behaviors<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li>Participants report that they do not currently smoke (95.5%), and use cart seat belt (94.7%).<\/li>\n<li>Women and minority groups engage less in low-intensity or high-intensity exercise.\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\"><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Health Chronic Conditions<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Participants report on average having two health chronic conditions. The most prevalent being Hypertension (64.9%) and Arthritis (54.5%), followed by Diabetes (26.9%) and Cancer (19.4%).<\/li>\n<li>Women and minority groups report higher average number of health chronic conditions than men and Caucasians.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Health Care Coverage<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Most participants report having health care (92%), however few offer Vision (54%), Dental (45%) or Mental Health services (39%).<\/li>\n<li>Women and minority groups report higher levels of health difficulties than men and Caucasians.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Medical Service Use<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>About 40.5% of participants report using the Emergency room\/Hospital service in the past year.<\/li>\n<li>Very few (17%) use or visit a Mental Health Specialist in the last 12 months.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Health Chronic Conditions<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Participants report on average having two chronic conditions. The most prevalent being Hypertension (64.9%) and Arthritis (54.5%), followed by Diabetes (26.9%) and Cancer (19.4%).<\/li>\n<li>Women and minority groups report higher average number of chronic conditions than men and Caucasians.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Health Care Coverage<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Most participants report having health care (92%), however few offer Vision (54%), Dental (45%) or Mental Health services (39%).<\/li>\n<li>Women and minority groups report higher levels of health difficulties than men and Caucasians.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Medical Service Use<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>About 40.5% of participants report using the Emergency room\/Hospital service in the past year.<\/li>\n<li>Very few (17%) use or visit a Mental Health Specialist in the last 12 months.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Health Outcomes<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>&nbsp; <\/strong><strong>Depression<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li>About one-third of participants score above the clinical depression cut-off index.<\/li>\n<li>Women and minority groups report higher average level of depression than men and Caucasians.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Perceived Stress<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li>Most participants report low levels of perceived stress.<\/li>\n<li>Latinos report higher levels of perceived stress than African Americans and Caucasians.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Emotional Well-being<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li>Most participants (85%) report that their mental health\/well-being was good or excellent.<\/li>\n<li>Latinos report lower level of mental health than African Americans and Caucasians.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Section 3: Community Ratings<\/strong> <strong>* (Sample N = 750 adults 60+)<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Rating Mecklenburg Community<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Participants rate Charlotte\/Mecklenburg County very positive in terms of a place to live (84.1%) and to retire (75.8%). They recommend to others to live in the County (83.8%) and plan overwhelmingly to remain throughout their retirement in the County (88.3%).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Rating Community Attitudes<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Only half of participants endorse the County \u201csense of community\u201d as good and very good.<\/li>\n<li>Fewer adults endorse as good or very good the County \u201crespect for older adults\u201d (38.4%), \u201cacceptance of diverse older adults\u201d (36.4%) and \u201ccommunity safety\u201d (33.1%).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Rating Community Services<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>About two-thirds of participants indicate that overall services are good or excellent (64.2%).<\/li>\n<li>However, less than one quarter of them endorse as good or very good the availability of community quality Mental Health Care Services (23.5%).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Satisfaction with Community Services<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The majority of adults indicate that it is easy or very easy to find productive or meaningful activities to do in the County (80%), or meaningful volunteer work (80%).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li>About two-thirds of adults report they are \u201cinformed\u201d or \u201cvery informed\u201d about services (62%) and that they are familiar or very familiar with services (60%).<\/li>\n<li>Only about half of them report that their voices are \u201csometimes\u201d or \u201calways\u201d heard (50.6%).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Community Participation<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Only about one third of participants (32.5%) reported to have participated as volunteer in activities for older adults in the County during the previous year.<\/li>\n<li>A fewer number of older adults declared (28.6) that they have attended local elected officials or other local public meetings in the County<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Use of Community Services<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Use of Community Services during las 12 months among adults in the sample was highest for attendance of Church activities (70.6%), followed by use of Public Libraries (55.3%), Parks and Recreation Centers (50.5%), and the Farmer\u2019s Market (47.5%).<\/li>\n<li>Adults report the lowest use of services for Veterans Administration (8.3%), Legal Help Services (7.8%), Housing Authority (5.2%), Adult Day Care Center (3.4%), and Mental Health Services (3.4%).<\/li>\n<li>Women are more likely to attend Church, Senior Centers and Nutritional Sites than men do.<\/li>\n<li>Caucasians report higher attendance to Public Libraries than minority groups.<\/li>\n<li>African Americans exhibit higher attendance to Church activities, Senior Centers and Nutritional programs than the other groups.<\/li>\n<li>Latinos express a greater preference for Parks and Recreation Community Centers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Section 4: Family Caregiving<\/strong> <strong>* (Sample N = 127)<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Age of Caregivers<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Caregivers report an average age of 62.3 years, ranging from 19 to 86.<\/li>\n<li>One third of caregivers (N= 38) are younger than 60 in the sample.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Caregivers\u2019 Education<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>About half of the sample of Caregivers (N= 63) completed a Graduate Bachelor degree or a Postgraduate Master\u2019s degree.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Family Caregivers\u2019 Income<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Average annual family income is in the range of $45,000 to $59,000.<\/li>\n<li>Caucasian caregivers report higher level of income than African Americans and Latinos.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Family Relationship with Care-recipient<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Most of the caregivers in the sample provide care to parents (N=54, 43.5%), and spouses (N=52, 42%), followed by adult children and others (N=18, 14%).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Living Arrangement <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li>Two-thirds of care-recipients live with their caregivers (N =81, 63.8%), a few with family members (N= 22, 17.3%), in nursing care (N= 15, 11.8%), or live by themselves (N= 9, 7.1%).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Length of Caregiving<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li>Two-thirds of caregivers provide care between one and five years (N= 59, 46.8%).&nbsp; About one third provide six or more years (N= 45, 35.8%), and a few care for a year or less (N= 22, 17.5%).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Caregiving Interference on Health and Work <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li>Most caregivers report that their health does not interfere with their ability to provide care (N= 59, 72.8%), but others indicate that their health interferes moderately or a lot (N= 22, 27.1%).<\/li>\n<li>Most caregivers do not make changes at work because of their caregiving (N= 86, 70%), but others report a reduction\/termination of work due to their caregiving duties (N= 38, 31%).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Care-recipient Health: Chronic Conditions <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li>Two-thirds of care-recipients report having at least 3 health chronic conditions (N= 77, 60.6%).<\/li>\n<li>Most care-recipients have Hypertension (66.9%) and Arthritis (58.9%). About half of caregivers provide care to Dementia relatives (48.8%) followed by Depression (34.9%), Diabetes (37.7%) and Cancer (17.6%).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Care-recipient ADL\/IADL Needs<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li>Caregivers assist their loves ones primarily with going shopping, visiting the doctor (90.6%), preparing meals (88.9%), financial matters (84.3%), managing care services (79%), clinical care (73.8%) and personal activities of daily living such as dressing, eating, bathing (65.3%).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Amount of Care provided by Caregiving <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li>Caregivers provide moderate to high levels of care to their loved ones (Index of IADL\/ADL).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Medical and Financial Planning <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li>Most caregivers report that their loved one has a legal guardian or power of appointment for health related issues (67.5%), medications (68.3%), financial issues (69%), and to manage their estate (65.3%).<\/li>\n<li>Caregivers report that their care-recipient has an Advance Medical or Psychiatric Directive (53.2%), Durable Power of Attorney (64.8%), and a Last Will and Testament (62.7%).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Caregiver Perceived Neglect or Abuse<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li>The risk perceived by caregivers of neglect of abused by anyone providing help to their loved ones is higher for neglecting care for the care-recipient (38.5%), trying to force them to do things that did not want (36.6%), taking money away without permission (35%), and making the care-recipient to feel bad, 25.2%).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Caregiver Service Use <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li>Most caregivers report that in the past year they visited the doctor (86.9%) and only about one-third visit the Hospital\/Emergency room (34.1%).<\/li>\n<li>Use of community services was very low ranging from Senior Centers and Adult Day Care (18%) to Short-Stay in Nursing Care (6.6%).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Caregiver Use of Paid Services<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li>Caregivers report low level of use of paid services (in the past months) regarding homemaker services (30.7%), home health services (23.6%), non-medical personal care (24.4%), and adult day care services (15.7%)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Dementia Caregivers Support<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Caregiver Help with Care <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li>Support from people to care is higher for non-dementia caregivers than for dementia caregivers.<\/li>\n<li>Dementia caregivers use adult care services more than non-dementia caregivers do.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Caregiver Help with ADL\/IADL Needs<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li>Dementia caregivers receive high level of help with IADL\/ADL activities than non-dementia caregivers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Caregiver Information about Services<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li>Dementia caregivers receive information about programs and services (education, training, managing care) more often than non-dementia caregivers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Dementia Caregivers Health Outcomes<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Caregiver Nursing Home Placement <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li>Dementia caregivers are more likely to place their care-recipient in nursing care than non-dementia caregivers do. More so if the care-recipient health will worsen.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Caregiver Health Outcomes<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li>Dementia caregivers report higher levels of negative health outcomes than non-dementia caregivers for outcomes such as:\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li>Depression<\/li>\n<li>Perceived strain<\/li>\n<li>Subjective stress<\/li>\n<li>Burden<\/li>\n<li>Stigma<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Overall, these findings highlight the need to have a broader conversation with seniors, City and County officials, and community agencies and organizations providing services and advocating for seniors, to develop a comprehensive plan to support people of all ages, and find strategies to build intergenerational connections between older adults, youth, and children in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, NC.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Data from a sample of 750 Non-Hispanic Whites, African Americans and Latinos 60 and older, and a sample of 130 family caregivers (Charts 120-181). <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Findings from the 2018\/2019 Meck60+ survey addressing the health and service needs of people 60 and older in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, NC * Executive Summary &nbsp; Section 1: Demographics * (Sample N = 750 adults 60+) Education Caucasians more likely to complete graduate degrees (BA, Master) than African Americans (High School\/Associate degree) and Latinos [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3290,"featured_media":0,"parent":141,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1281","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/jmontoro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/jmontoro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/jmontoro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/jmontoro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3290"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/jmontoro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1281"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/jmontoro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1281\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1378,"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/jmontoro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1281\/revisions\/1378"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/jmontoro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.charlotte.edu\/jmontoro\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}