New Initiative Focuses on Health Promotion for the Elderly

New Initiative Focuses on Health Promotion for the Elderly APhA is cooperating in a new federal government initiative designed to encourage states and communities to develop health promotion activities for the elderly. Launched jointly by the U.S. Administration on Aging (AoA) and the Public Health Service (PHS), the program is called the National Health Promotion Initiative for the Elderly. It aims to enhance collaboration between state and local health departments, state and area agencies on aging, and appropriate voluntary organizations in developing health promotion programs for older persons at the community level. These programs would be in such areas as proper drug use, nutrition, injury control, and physical fitness. State and local level activities will be the principal building blocks for the AoA/PHS initiative. Governors in 46 states, to date, have designated agencies to provide the leadership in forming coalitions to carry out the various program activities. APhA has provided all state pharmacy association executives with the agency contact in their state. Since voluntary participation is critical for these state and local coalitions to work successfully, APhA has encouraged the state pharmacy associations to become actively involved in the planning and imple-

mentation of the initiative as it takes shape in their respective states. fly our and your members' active participation will speak to the strength and vitality of pharmacy's interest in and commitment to older citizens," APhA wrote the state executives. The initiative is based on the fact that many of the diseases that affect older persons are the so-called "lifestyle" diseases-conditions such as diabetes and heart disease which are related to preventable factors such as poor nutrition and lack of exercise. Thus, the emphasis in the initiative will be on prevention. Three immediate benefits are envisioned: • Prevention saves lives. The high-

est rate of accidental death and injury occurs among the elderly. Their risk of fatal injury is nearly twice that of adolescents and younger adults. Relatively simple and inexpensive accident prevention measures are available to reduce accidents or injury. • Prevention improves the quality of life. The long-term goal of health promotion/disease prevention programs for the elderly must not only be to achieve further increases in longevity, but also to allow each individual to seek an independent and rewarding life style in old age, free from many of the health problems that are within the person's power to control. • Prevention can save dollars. The elderly comprise about 10% of the population but account for 30% of health-related expenditures in the U .S. Anything that can be done to reduce the need for these expenditures can benefit not only the person but society as a whole.

Emulsifyi

Wax,N.F~

Computerizing Self--Health Care The market for self-help health care products is expected to expand from $1. 2 billion in 1983 to $5.7 billion in 1988, which represents a compound annual growth rate of nearly 37%, according to a market analysis by Creative Strategies Incorporated (CS1), a San Jose, CA, market research and consulting firm. Besides the established product markets such as devices for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of illness, the report states that a new industry segment is rising-home

technologies in health care applications. Dynamic growth is expected for health-oriented applications of interactive cable TV, optical videodisc players, and home microcomputers. Meanwhile, health-oriented software is a particularly wide-open area for opportunity, the analysis notes. CSI esimates that self-health-carerelated software markets will grow at a compound annual rate of about 100% through 1988.

American Pharmacy Vol. NS24, No. 10, October 1984/645

COIdactCrocia. 183 Madison Ave. New York, NY 100-16 Tel (212) 685 -9382

*XV,1975.

17