VISIBILITY OF SPECIALIZED SERVICES FOR OLDER ADULTS ON HOSPITAL WEBSITES

Publication Date

4-5-2019

Document Type

Poster

Degree Type

Graduate

Mentor

Brenda Johnson

Mentor Department

Nursing

Abstract

Population demands on health care are changing. As a society, we are facing a massive wave of persons aging into the need for geriatric and older adult care services. The growing Medicare population has created a widely recognized need for hospitals to deliver safe, effective, and patient-centered care. Age-friendly Health System is an initiative spearheaded by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement with the goal of developing an "age-friendly framework" that will be adopted by 20 percent of U.S. hospitals and health systems by 2020 (Fulmer, Mate & Burman, 2017). The current study explores heath care providers' response to this growing need through a digital marketing lens, utilizing exploratory and descriptive methods to examine the visibility of geriatric services and specialization in older adult care on hospital websites. As consumers increasingly use websites for identifying products and services, we ask the question-are specialized services for the older adult as visible as other specialty services, such as those in obstetrics and maternal care? A binary matrix was developed for collecting data about the extent and ways by which geriatric services are displayed on hospital websites. Results suggest important implications about the perceived value of these services to health care providers, and the potential impact on the older adult population. Fulmer T, Mate KS, & Berman A (2017). The age-friendly health system imperative. Journal of the American Geriatric Society, 66(1): 22-24.

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