About This Report

Older Americans 2004: Key Indicators of Well-Being (Older Americans 2004) is the second in a series of reports produced by the Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics (Forum)that describe the overall status of the U.S. population age 65 and over. This report provides Federal statistics from over a dozen national data sources to monitor several important areas in the lives of older Americans -- population, economics, health status, health risks and behaviors, and health care.

The Forum has once again collaborated to update and expand the comprehensive set of indicators that first appeared in Older Americans 2000: Key Indicators of Well-Being (Older Americans 2000). This series of reports provides the Nation with a broad summary of national indicators of well-being for the U.S. population age 65 and over and monitors changes in these indicators over time. By following these data trends, more accessible information will be available to target efforts that can improve the lives of older Americans.

Older Americans 2004 has added several new indicators to provide a more complete picture of the health and well-being of older Americans: sensory impairments and oral health; obesity; cigarette smoking; air quality; prescription drugs; sources of health insurance; sources of payment for health care services; and residential services. In addition to these new indicators, this report has been expanded to highlight an important and rapidly growing group of older Americans -- older veterans.

The Forum hopes that this report will stimulate discussions by policymakers and the public, encourage exchanges between the data and policy communities, and foster improvements in Federal data collection on older Americans. By examining a broad range of indicators, researchers, policymakers, service providers, and the Federal Government can better understand the areas of well-being that are improving for older Americans and the areas of well-being that require more attention and effort.

• An introductory paragraph that describes the relevance of the indicator to the wellbeing of the older population.
• One or more charts that graphically display analyses of the data.
• Bulleted highlights of salient findings from the data and other sources. The data used to develop the indicators and their accompanying bullets are presented in table format in Appendix A. Data source descriptions are provided in Appendix B. A glossary is supplied in Appendix C.

Selection Criteria for Indicators

Older Americans 2004 presents 37 key indicators that measure critical aspects of older people's lives. The Forum chose these indicators because they are:

• Easy to understand by a wide range of audiences.
• Based on reliable, nationwide data (sponsored, collected, or disseminated by the Federal Government).
• Objectively based on substantial research that connects them to the well-being of older Americans.
• Balanced so that no single area dominates the report.
• Measured periodically (not necessarily annually) so that they can be updated as appropriate and show trends over time.
• Representative of large segments of the aging population, rather than one particular group.

Data availability and analytical relevance may affect the specific age groups that are included for an indicator. For example, because of small sample sizes in some surveys, statistically reliable data for the population age 85 and over often are not available. Conversely, data from the population younger than age 65 sometimes are included if they are relevant to the interpretation of the indicator. For example, in "Indicator 11: Participation in the Labor Force," a comparison with a younger population enhances the interpretation of the labor force trends among people age 65 and over.

Because the older population is becoming more diverse, analyses often are presented by sex, race and ethnic origin, income, and other characteristics.

Updated indicators in Older Americans 2004 are not always comparable to the original indicators in Older Americans 2000. The replication of certain indicators with updated data is sometimes difficult because of changes in data sources, definitions, questionnaires, and/or reporting categories. A comparability table is available on the Forum's Web site at http://www.agingstats.gov to help readers understand the changes that have taken place.

The reference population (the base population sampled at the time of data collection) for each indicator is clearly labeled under each chart and table and defined in the glossary. Whenever possible, the indicators include data on the U.S. resident population (i.e., people living in the community and people living in institutions). However, some indicators show data only for the civilian noninstitutionalized population. Because the older population residing in nursing homes (and other long-term care institutional settings) is excluded from samples based on the noninstitutionalized population, caution should be exercised when attempting to generalize the findings from these data sources to the entire population age 65 and over. This is especially true for the older age groups. For example in 2002, only 83 percent of the population age 85 and over was included in the civilian noninstitutionalized population as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau.

• Widening access to information on the aging population through periodic publications and other means.
• Promoting communication among data producers, researchers, and public policymakers.
• Coordinating the development and use of statistical databases among Federal agencies.
• Identifying information gaps and data inconsistencies.
• Investigating questions of data quality.
• Encouraging cross-national research and data collection on the aging population.
• Addressing concerns regarding collection, access, and dissemination of data.

• Continuously updated data tables (as the data become available).
• PowerPoint slides of the charts.
• Excel spreadsheets of all the data tables (some with standard errors).
• A   comparability table explaining the changes to the indicators that have taken place between Older Americans 2000 and Older Americans 2004.
• The Forum's Web site also provides:
  • Ongoing Federal data resources relevant to the study of the aging.
  • Past products of the Forum (including Older Americans 2000).
  • Agency contacts.
  • Subject area contact list for Federal statistics.
  • Information about the Forum.

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