More Cultural Diversity in the Older Population

The older U.S. population is expected to grow more culturally and racially diverse over time, with forecasts projecting the number of black older Americans will nearly triple from 2015 to 2060 and the number of Hispanic older adults will more than quintuple, while the white populace will less than double its headcount, reports WOTV . This growth is attributed to higher birth rates and to immigration among racial and ethnic minority populations. For example, approximately 15 percent of people 65 and older lived in a home where a language other than English was spoken in 2014. These trends have significant ramifications for meeting diverse personal and family caregiver preferences, delivering services with cultural sensitivity, and making the paid healthcare workforce skilled in cultural competence.