A 4-pronged approach to foster healthy aging in older adults

Avoid these screening conversation missteps. A 2017 qualitative study asked 40 community-dwelling older adults (mean age = 76 years) about their preferences for discussing screening cessation with their physicians.¹³ Three themes emerged.First, they were open to stopping their screenings, especially when suggested by a trusted physician. Second, health status and physical function made sense as decision points, but life expectancy did not. Finally, lengthy discussions with expanded details about risks and benefits were not appreciated, especially if coupled with comments on the limited benefits for those nearing the end of life. When discussing life expectancy, patients preferred phrasing that focused on how the screening was unnecessary because it would not help them live longer.¹³

Ensure that your message is understood—and culturally relevant. Recent studies on lower health literacy among older adults^15,16 and ethnic and racial minorities^17-21—as revealed in the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy²²—might offer clues to patient receptivity to discussions about preventive screening and other health decisions.

One study found a significant correlation between higher self-rated health literacy and higher engagement in health behaviors such as mammography screening, moderate physical activity, and tobacco avoidance.¹⁶ Perceptions of personal control over health status, as well as perceived social standing, also correlated with health literacy score levels.¹⁶ Another study concluded that lower health literacy combined with lower self-­efficacy, cultural beliefs about health topics (eg, diet and exercise), and distrust in the health care system contributed to lower rates of preventive care utilization among ethnocultural minority older adults in Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia.¹⁸

Ensuring that easy-to-understand information is equitably shared with older adults of all races and ethnicities is critical. A 2018 study showed that distrust of the health system and cultural issues contributed to the lower incidence of colorectal cancer screenings in Hispanic and Asian American patients ages 50 to 75 years.²¹ Patients whose physicians engaged in “health literate practices” (eg, offering clear explanations of diagnostic plans and asking patients to describe what they understood) were more likely to obtain recommended breast and colorectal cancer screenings.²⁰ In particular, researchers found that non-Hispanic Blacks were nearly twice as likely to follow through on colorectal cancer screening if their physicians engaged in health literate practices.²⁰ In addition, receiving clear instructions from physicians increased the odds of completing breast cancer screening among Hispanic and non-­Hispanic White women.²⁰

Overall, screening information and recommendations should be standardized for all patients. This is particularly important in light of research that found that older non-Hispanic Black patients were less likely than their non-Hispanic White counterparts to receive information from their physicians about colorectal cancer screening.²⁰

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