LATIN@ ELDERS: Securing Healthy Aging Inspite of Health and Mental Health Disparities

Abstract

The elder population is the fastest growing subgroup of the U.S. This demographic reality has been referred as the "graying of America" and is the result of improved and longer life expectancy of elders because of the medical advances, technology, lifestyle choices and the "baby boomer" generation. The "graying of America" is also ethnically and racially diverse, and Latin@s are the fastest growing segment of the elder population. This chapter discusses the diversity among Latin@ elders and addresses their perceptions of aging and well-being given their diverse realities and existing health and mental health disparities. Using a social justice frame, the authors examine Latin@ health and mental health disparities and the intersectionality of particular social determinants of health: acculturation and health status, chronic illness and the Hispanic mortality paradox, poverty, adjustment to daily living and health literacy. In spite of health disparities that result from structural inequalities, the authors emphasize three positive influences that affect healthy aging by Latin@ elders: (1) family relationships, (2) social support networks, and (3) health/mental health service delivery system within a community context. The authors illustrate community programs as best practice models that include cultural competence and interprofessional collaborations that challenge the structural inequities to reduce health and mental health disparities within the Latin@ elderly population.