The U.S. health care system consists of health agencies of two types: publicly funded and privately funded. The first type of organization is supported by taxes, and it performs a wide range of activities, the enforcement of which sometimes requires a specific legal status of organizations (Rector, 2018). Private health care organizations are non-tax-supported, and they can be either non-profit or for-profit (Rector, 2018).
This paper will compare the Administration on Aging (AOA) that is part of the U.S Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS) and the National Council on Aging (NCOA). Both of them deal with the aging population, the care for which became one of the major goals of Healthy People 2020 (Lach & Noimontree, 2018). The health promotion services of NCOA complement those of the AOA, but the AOA is more successful in addressing healthcare disparities.
The USDHHS is a large public health organization that handles health issues on the government level. It consists of a range of agencies, each referring to particular health care areas and specific populations (Rector, 2018). The AOA is one of its agencies, and it is designed to arrange health care for the elderly in accordance with the Older American Act of 1965 (Administration for Community Living [ACL], 2017).
The AOA has the Office of Nutrition and Health Promotion Programs, the purpose of which is to educate elderly people about healthy behaviors, HIV/AIDS, oral health, and nutrition services (ACL, 2017). It also aims at preventing falls and illnesses and teaching the aging population how to manage chronic disease and diabetes without help (ACL, 2017). Thus, the publicly funded AOA offers a wide variety of health promotion services to its target audience.
The AOA also addresses healthcare disparities in its specific demographic. It is the responsibility of the Office for American Indian, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiian Programs, which is another unit of the AOA (ACL, 2017). This office’s programs support tribal organizations so that they can provide health care for elderly people in their community (ACL, 2017). However, it seems that the AOA does not distinguish aging individuals with disabilities since it offers them the same services as the rest of its target population.
The NCOA is a separate healthcare resource rather than an affiliated agency. It is a private, not-for-profit healthcare organization that focuses on the needs of the aging population (Rector, 2018). Since, according to Rector (2018), privately funded health services usually complement government services, the NCOA may be regarded as a significant supplement to the AOA. The NCOA programs are designed to help elderly people to get supplemental nutrition and develop healthy behaviors, as well as educate them about managing chronic conditions (National Council on Aging [NCOA], 2018). One of the greatest concerns of the aging population is the risk of falling because it may cause serious injuries at this age (Lach & Noimontree, 2018).
The NCOA effectively addresses this concern through “awareness, education, and evidence-based falls prevention programs offered in the community” (NCOA, 2018, p. 8). The organization pays particular attention to people with disabilities by offering them expanded access to services that help them to remain in the community (NCOA, 2018). However, the NCOA does not address the particular needs of ethnic minorities that are likely to face healthcare disparities.
To sum up, the AOA, a publicly funded health system, and the NCOA, a privately funded organization, have much in common in terms of health promotion and disease prevention services that they offer. However, since the AOA is a government agency, it has a wider scope of action. For this reason, it is more efficient in addressing healthcare disparities by providing support to Native Hawaiian, Alaska Natives, and American Indians. At the same time, the NCOA seems to be more effective in helping elderly people with disabilities.
References
Administration for Community Living. (2017). Administration on aging. Web.
Lach, H. W., & Noimontree, W. (2018). Fall prevention among community-dwelling older adults: Current guidelines and older adult responses. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 44(9), 21-29.
National Council on Aging. (2018). 2017 impact report. Web.
Rector, C. (2018). Community and public health nursing: Promoting the public’s health (9th ed.). New York, NY: Walters Kluwer.