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Background. From 1970 to 2010, the Alaskan population increased from 302,583 to 698,473. During that time, the growth rate of Alaskan seniors (65+) was 4 times higher than their national counterparts. Ageing in Alaska requires confronting unique environmental, sociodemographic and infrastructural challenges, including an extreme climate, geographical isolation and less developed health care infrastructure compared to the continental US.
Objective. The objective of this analysis is to compare the health needs of Alaskan seniors to those in the continental US.
Design. We abstracted 315,161 records of individuals age 65 + from the 2013 and 2014 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, of which 1,852 were residents of Alaska. To compare residents of Alaska to residents of the 48 contiguous states we used generalized linear models which allowed us to adjust for demographic differences and survey weighting procedures. We examined 3 primary outcomes - general health status, health care coverage status and length of time since last routine check-up.
Results. Alaskan seniors were 59% less likely to have had a routine check-up in the past year and 12% less likely to report excellent health status than comparable seniors in the contiguous US.
Conclusions. Given the growth rate of Alaskan seniors and inherent health care challenges this vulnerable population faces, future research should examine the specific pathways through which these disparities occur and inform policies to ensure that all US seniors, regardless of geographical location, have access to high-quality health services.
Keywords: older adults; health care; Alaska
Alaska has undergone rapid sociodemographic changes over the past 50 years, resulting in an increasingly diverse and urban population, as well as a growing number of adults over the age of 65 (1). The number of Americans aged 65 and older will increase roughly 38% in the next 10 years from approximately 48 million to nearly 66 million (2). In Alaska, this growth is projected to be even more drastic. The Alaska Department of Labor predicts that the number of Alaska residents aged 65 and older will more than double from 63,832 people in 2012 to 140,340 people in 2042, despite historically having a younger population than the rest of the United States (US) (3). An increase in the elderly population in Alaska means a dramatic increase in the number...