Aging Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Question: What significant issues face the rural aging population today?
Answer: Rural elderly face several issues, such as:
- Migration
The lack of profitability of family holdings has been a cause of rural poverty and has increased migration to urban centers. Older persons are usually the last to move, following their children to urban areas and may face difficult adjustment.
- Environmental challenges
These may include lack of safe drinking water, lack of proper sanitary facilities for disposal of sewage and garbage, low quality housing, lack of electricity, malnutrition, poor and badly maintained roads, and extreme climatic conditions for parts of the year.
- Remoteness
Living in isolated areas distant from urban areas may result in inaccessibility to health care, lack of educational opportunities, lack of transportation to medical appointments, and difficulties in communication.
- Health issues
Health issues affecting rural elderly include inadequate nutrition, obesity and illnesses such as diabetes, Alzheimer's and depression.
Question: How can I find out if my state has an agency on aging? What can the agency do for me?
Answer: Each state has an agency on aging. These agencies can help you locate information and assistance on a variety of issues in your local area. These services serve people age 60 and over.
- The Eldercare Locator
A service of the U.S. Administration on Aging, shows all state and area aging agencies
- AARP
Has information on all state offices, including services in your community and volunteer opportunities
- National Family Caregiver Support Program
Source for finding state programs specializing in caregiver support, respite care and supplemental assistance
Question: What is the Meals-on-Wheels program and how can I find out if there is a program in my area?
Answer: The Meals on Wheels Association of America is the oldest and largest organization in the United States representing those who provide meal services to people in need. This program provides one hot meal per day to seniors. The guiding principle to which it subscribes is to help those men and women who are elderly, homebound, disabled, frail, or at risk. It also gives cash grants to local senior meal programs throughout the country to assist in providing meals and other nutrition services. The Meals-on-Wheels website allows you to search by city and state to find a listing of all programs in your area.
Some Meals-on-Wheels programs provide congregate meals in addition to home delivered meals. Congregate programs are simply programs that serve at senior centers, where seniors can come and eat their meal in the company of others. While this is not a rare type of program, it is certainly less common so you should check with your local program to see whether or not they have a congregate program.
Seniors living in rural communities have limited resources and services, including getting meals delivered due to time, distance, cost, and labor. Meals On Wheels Association of America’s Rural Initiative is working to find solutions to address these challenges. The development and dissemination of a blueprint for the model rural Senior Nutrition Program is anticipated to address this situation.
Question: I don't drive and need transportation to get groceries and get to medical appointments. Who can I speak to about this in my rural community?
Answer: The National Volunteer Caregiving Network (NVCN), formerly called Faith in Action, has over 1,000 programs throughout the country. This volunteer program provides many services, including transportation to doctor appointments, errands, and picking up groceries. NVCN provides a listing of local programs throughout the United States.
Each state has a transportation office. These offices can assist in helping answer questions and locating what transportation programs are in your area. The U.S. Department of Transportation provides a state-by-state directory to provide contact information for each of the state transportation managers and associations.
Citizens or groups wanting to implement a transportation program in their rural community should visit with their state office listed above. Your state representative can tell you what can be done and how to do it. They may also have the means at the state level to offer grants to purchase vehicles.
Community Action Agencies can also provide citizens with information on transportation in rural areas.
Easter Seals Project Action Travelers Database provides an index of accessible transportation providers that is searchable by state, city, and zip code.
The American Public Transportation Association contains a listing of local public transportation systems. This listing provides a state-by-state display of state, regional and county transportation services available. They also provide a listing of public transit in your community.
For further information on rural transportation programs, please see the RAC Transportation Information Guide, particularly the frequently asked questions section.
Last reviewed 01/23/2012
