Poor Physical Health

Indicator Definition
Adults (ages 65 and older) who reported that their physical health “was not good” eight or more days during the past month.

Older adults who report poor physical health eight or more days within past month in Colorado3

Older adults who report poor physical health eight or more days within past month by sex in Colorado4

Indicator Significance
Physical health is a key indicator of overall well-being as people age. Lifestyle choices—such as inactivity, smoking, poor diet and social isolation—can affect an individual’s perception of physical health. Likewise, physical health is strongly associated with mental health. People who suffer from one or more chronic illnesses are more likely to report poor mental health, whereas those who have a chronic mental illness often have a secondary or primary physical condition. Physical symptoms such as stomach problems and low energy in older adults often suggest underlying mental health concerns, such as depression. For this reason, depressed older adults spend three times as much on medical care as non-depressed older adults.¹

Colorado Specifics
Colorado performs fair compared to other states in the proportion of older adults reporting poor physical health, ranking twelfth. There has been little change since 2000 in the proportion of older Coloradans reporting poor physical health. Older women are more likely to report poor physical health than are men. Improvements in physical activity and preventive health care could boost Colorado’s performance on this important health indicator.

Promising Initiatives
In Colorado
The Colorado Department for Public Health and Environment is launching Stanford University’s Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP) for older adults who lack private health plans. An internationally accepted best practice in disease management, the program helps participants set goals, make decisions and find the resources and support they need to make informed decisions about exercise, healthy eating, intimacy and personal relationships and positive communication with friends, family and caregivers. The program also provides information on medication management and best ways to participate in their medical treatment decisions. At the end of the program, each participant leaves with an action plan for self-management.

Elsewhere
The Physical Activity Project, developed by the Virginia Department of Health and Department of Aging, targets adults living in rural areas whose populations have higher-than-average rates of chronic illness. Participants come to senior nutrition sites, where trained program coordinators teach low-impact exercise. The project began with 74 participants. A year later, participation had doubled. Forty percent of participants reported a decrease in pain and 50 percent reported that the program helped them reach personal fitness goals.²

Older adults who report poor physical health eight or more days within past month⁵

Text

1. Hawkins BA. “Aging Well: Toward a Way of Life for All People,” Preventing Chronic Disease; July 2005.
   
2. Commonwealth Council on Aging. “2006 Best Practices Award Winners”; July 25, 2007.
   

Charts

3. Source: Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and Colorado Health Institute analysis of Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2000–2007, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Data for 2002 are not available because the question for this indicator was not included in the survey that year.
   
4. Source: Colorado Health Institute analysis of Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2007, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
   
5. Source: National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2007, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.