The Future of Aging and Longevity - Flipbook - Page 14
Aging and Longevity as an
Impera琀椀ve in Public Health
Emergency Preparedness
and Response
Alison Barko昀昀, JD
Lynn Goldman, MD
Harold and Jane Hirsh Health
Law and Policy Associate
Professor and Hirsh Program
Director, The George
Washington University
Milken Ins琀椀tute School of
Public Health
Professor and Dean Emeritus,
The George Washington
University Milken Ins琀椀tute
School of Public Health
lder adults are too o昀琀en le昀琀 behind in
the wake of disasters. Three-quarters of
people who died in Hurricane Katrina
were over the age of 60. Many were trapped in
their homes, unable to evacuate. This scenario has
repeated with almost every major hurricane. Other
types of disasters, including pandemics, wild昀椀res,
and extreme heat, similarly threaten the lives of our
most vulnerable ci琀椀zens—young children, people
with preexis琀椀ng health condi琀椀ons, and older adults.
Older adults face unique and dispropor琀椀onate
risks and experience the highest rates of
casual琀椀es in disasters. Many cannot evacuate
quickly enough—or at all—due to limited mobility,
transporta琀椀on, and 昀椀nancial and social supports.
Even if they do evacuate, they face physical,
O
10
communica琀椀on, and a琀�tudinal barriers in
accessing emergency shelters and other services.
For the 95 percent of older adults who are aging in
place, the loss of access to cri琀椀cal health care and
in-home services during and a昀琀er disasters can
lead to unnecessary placement in nursing homes.
Older adults are also par琀椀cularly vulnerable to risks
from climate change, including heat stroke, heart
a琀琀acks from wild昀椀re smoke pollu琀椀on, and falls
from unstable ground.
Yet despite these long-documented serious
risks, older adults have not historically been a
focus for public health emergency preparedness
and response. That must change. With a growing
aging popula琀椀on, inten琀椀onal focus is cri琀椀cal to
achieving public health’s goals of health equity and
MIL K EN I N S T I T U T E | T H E FU T U RE O F AGI N G A N D LO N GEV I TY
