Aging Impact on Communication Strategy March 31, 2008
Posted by George Van Antwerp in Books / Articles, Consumerism, Healthcare, Marketing / Communications, Research.trackback
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.
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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)
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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
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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
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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.
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