Unmet Needs and Social Challenges for Older Adults During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Opportunity to Improve Care

Abstract

Many older adults in the United States are affected by unmet needs and social challenges that negatively impact their health and well-being. These include social isolation, inadequate care, inability to perform daily activities, food insecurity, housing insecurity, poverty, and abuse/neglect/exploitation. Such challenges make it more difficult to obtain medical and dental care and manage vision / hearing impairments. Affected patients have trouble obtaining medications and remaining adherent to medication regimens. These issues may compromise an older adults’ nutrition. They may contribute to anxiety, depression, and loneliness, which in turn can also negatively affect a person’s physical health and function.