The health of aging Hispanics : the Mexican-origin population

The Health of Aging Hispanics: The Mexican-Origin Population edited by Jacqueline L. Angel University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas and Keith W. Whitfield Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania The population of the United States, like that of most other nations, will age rapidly well into the 21st century. By 2025, at least one-fifth of the population in 15 countries in the Americas is to be age 60 or over. Additionally, as the result of high immigration and fertility rates, as well as improvements in life expectancy, the United States Census Bureau projects that by 2050, the total number of non-Hispanic white aged 65 and over will more than triple, and the number of Hispanics in this age bracket will increase eleven fold. Despite these demographic facts, there is a significant dearth of information about the unique strengths and characteristics that underrepresented minority possess and experience as they age. Further examination of these understudied groups, especially among Hispanics – now the nation’s largest minority group – offers the possibility to promote healthy aging for the entire nation. In this unique volume, contributions provide initial information on numerous factors that affect the health security of Mexican-origin families and individuals as they face the burdens of decline in health status and caring for children and the elderly simultaneously, including health issues before and after immigration. Also included is material addressing important issues related to the contemporary political debate on immigration and healthcare reform in the United States and Mexico. In the coming decades, collections such as this will be critical to develop a better understanding of how immigration from Latin America, Asia and Africa to the United States produces health disparities in our aging population. Front Matter....Pages I-XIV Setting the Stage: Hispanic Health and Aging in the Americas....Pages 1-14 Front Matter....Pages I-XIV Health Status of Elderly Hispanics in the United States....Pages 17-25 Census Disability Rates Among Older People by Race/Ethnicity and Type of Hispanic Origin....Pages 26-39 Disability and Active Life Expectancy of Older U.S.-and Foreign-Born Mexican Americans....Pages 40-49 Predictors of Decline in Cognitive Status, Incidence of Dementia/CIND and All-Cause Mortality in Older Latinos: The Role of Nativity and Cultural Orientation in the Sacramento Area Latino Study on Aging....Pages 50-64 Education and Mortality Risk Among Hispanic Adults in the United States....Pages 65-84 Does Longer Life Mean Better Health? Not for Native-Born Mexican Americans in the Health and Retirement Survey....Pages 85-95 Front Matter....Pages I-XIV Dynamics of Intergenerational Assistance in Middle- and Old-Age in Mexico....Pages 99-120 Aging, Health and Migration: The Voices of the Elderly Poor in Mexico....Pages 121-133 Aging and Health Interrelations at the United States-Mexico Border....Pages 134-140 Colonias , Informal Homestead Subdivisions, and Self-Help Care for the Elderly Among Mexican Populations in the United States....Pages 141-162 Front Matter....Pages I-XIV Disparities and Access Barriers to Health Care Among Mexican American Elders....Pages 165-180 Lack of Health Insurance Coverage and Mortality Among Latino Elderly in the United States....Pages 181-194 Access Issues in the Care of Mexican-Origin Elders: A Clinical Perspective....Pages 195-201 Cross Border Health Insurance and Aging Mexicans and Mexican Americans....Pages 202-210 Cultural Myths and Other Fables About Promoting Health in Mexican Americans: Lessons Learned from Starr County Border Health Intervention Research....Pages 211-221 Health Insurance Coverage and Health Care Utilization along the U.S.–Mexico Border: Evidence from the Border Epidemiologic Study on Aging....Pages 222-234 Front Matter....Pages I-XIV Impoverishing and Catastrophic Household Health Spending Among Families with Older Adults in Mexico: A Health Reform Priority....Pages 237-262 The Health Care Safety Net for Hispanics....Pages 263-279 Afterword Globalization and Health: Risks and Opportunities for the Mexico—U.S. Border....Pages 280-288 Back Matter....Pages 289-294 The population of the United States, like that of most other nations, will age rapidly well into the 21st century. By 2025, at least one-fifth of the population in 15 countries in the Americas is to be age 60 or over. Additionally, as the result of high immigration and fertility rates, as well as improvements in life expectancy, the United States Census Bureau projects that by 2050, the total number of non-Hispanic white aged 65 and over will more than triple, and the number of Hispanics in this age bracket will increase eleven fold. Despite these demographic facts, there is a significant dearth of information about the unique strengths and characteristics that underrepresented minority possess and experience as they age. Further examination of these understudied groups, especially among Hispanics - now the nation's largest minority group - offers the possibility to promote healthy aging for the entire nation. After years of research, researchers have a grasp of some of the complex issues and social and behavioral patters surrounding health that impact older Hispanic people, especially those of Mexican ancestry.; The connection between immigration and health is complex and a host of factors related to immigration processes both in terms of the initial migration from Mexico (health selection) and subsequent incorporation into the United States (social causation) affect multiple health outcomes. In the coming decades, it will be critical to develop a better understanding of how immigration from Mexico, Latin America and other sending nations in Asia and Africa, produces health disparities in our aging population. In the proposed book, contributors will provide initial information on numerous factors that affect the health security of Mexican-origin families and individuals as they face the burdens of decline in health status and caring for children and the elderly simultaneously. Also included is material addressing important issues related to the contemporary political debate on immigration and healthcare reform in the United States and Mexico This timely and much-needed book addresses the demographic trends affecting the Latinos in the United States, Mexico and Latin America, looking at the health concerns and of this growing population, as it ages. Further examination of this previously understudied group– now the nation’s largest minority group – offers the possibility to promote healthy aging for the entire nation. As international immigration continues to increase, collections such as this are critical for understanding the social and health consequences of this immigration.