Aging Impact on Communication Strategy

We all know that healthcare spending is concentrated and often very highly correlated with age. Yet, aging has several impacts on people that change their ability to receive information. I found the following statistics very enlightening as to why a multi-modal strategy (i.e., mail plus phone plus Internet) is important.

• Impact on reading – slower reader, reduced contrast perception (source: www.preventblindness.org)
  • 17% of people over 40 have cataracts
  • 50% of people over 80 have cataracts
  • 2% of people over 50 have AMD (age-related macular degeneration)
  • 3% of people over 40 have a visual impairment (including blindness)
• Impact on hearing – can’t hear certain sounds, need hearing aids
  • 30-35% of people between 65 and 75 have presbycusis
  • 40-50% of people over 75 have presbycusis
• Impact on cognition – slower learning time (source: International Journal of Experimental, Clinical, and Behavioral Gerontology)
  • 1% of people age 60-64 have dementia
  • 30-50% of people over 85 have dementia
• Impact on mobility – challenges operating a mouse or car
  • 37% of people over 55 have tremors

All this data was part of a Forrester teleconference on December 13, 2007 called The Customer Experience Review, Q4 2007.

I couldn’t find a link to the Journal listed above, but I did find a nice set of links to information on aging.