Critical Issues for Senior Clients

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Resolve to talk with your parents, family members or clients about critical aging issues.

There’s a good reason to make this resolution. A recent survey by the Roper Public Affairs and Media Group of 1,000 seniors nationwide indicates that Baby Boomers are not communicating with their parents as often or as well as they think. In fact, the study found a real disconnect between the issues adult children perceived as important and seniors’ actual concerns.

For starters, adult children think their parents are more concerned about aging issues than they actually are (53 percent vs. 33 percent). That’s a pretty big gap.

The difference in wavelength may be because seniors and children don’t talk often enough. Baby Boomers claim to talk frequently with their parents about important health and other matters (60 percent). However, only 32 percent of seniors agree.

What is even more alarming is the fact that seniors say that critical topics such as nursing homes, long-term care, the ability to drive, wills and funeral planning are rarely discussed.

Surprisingly enough, it’s not seniors who are uncomfortable talking about these subjects. More than three-quarters of those surveyed said they would like to discuss driving, insurance and health care issues with their kids but only about 17 to 18 percent actually do so.

The problem seems to be that both generations want to deal with these issues but each is waiting for the other to bring them up. According to the study, one-third of seniors and their children agreed they would like to have more conversations about these topics. The barrier seems to be that a slightly larger number (46 percent) said they would participate if the others spoke first.

One area of communication that really needs help is Medicare and the many new options available to seniors. Baby Boomers think it is important to understand insurance coverage and issues so they can help their parents (76 percent). However, more than half of those surveyed admitted they were relatively clueless about how Medicare works.

So what can be done to close the gap? Seniors and adult children need to get the conversation started, according to Dr. Edward Schneider, Dean Emeritus of the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology at the University of Southern California . “Often, families discuss these critical life issues under duress usually after a life-changing event impacts their families or friends,” Schneider notes. “The time to talk and plan is now, when plans can be made proactively. Developing these action plans is imperative, enabling families to have peace of mind and a sense of control over their future,” he adds.

There are a number of helpful tools available. One is the “Connecting the Generations Conversation Guide,” a 24-page free book with tips to help initiate conversations on critical health and aging issues. The Guide is produced by WellPoint, Inc., a health benefits company that offers healthcare plans and services. Wellpoint, Inc. sponsored the Roper study as part of an initiative to help educate and involve families in health care planning.

Another is a new website launched by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in December. The goal of the website, www.longtermcare.gov, is to make it easier for consumers to get the information they need to plan for long-term care. The National Clearinghouse for Long-Term Care Information site provides comprehensive information about long-term care planning, services and financing options, along with tools to help people begin the planning process.

And, of course, there’s the Certified Senior Advisor designation training. Seventy-six percent of CSAs say their most improved skill after becoming a CSA was better communication with seniors.

Whatever route you take, the first step in closing the gap begins with you. Don’t wait another year to initiate conversations and make decisions that will impact the quality of life of a loved one. Start today.