Experts in New Hampshire are especially concerned about their state’s future health care needs given a largely aging population that could potentially get sicker, according to a Concord Monitor article.
The cause for concern comes via data collected from the US Census Bureau and the newly released Hampshire Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey, among other sources.
Obesity levels across the state are forecasted to rise from 25.6 percent, recorded in 2010, to between 33.9 and 43.4 percent by 2030. There will be increased rates of Alzheimer’s, cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease by 2030, as well.
MapNH Health, formed by New Hampshire Citizens Health Initiative, was created as a proactive measure to discuss and to raise awareness for future health care needs statewide.
Jeanne Ryer, director of NH Citizens Health Initiative, told the Concord Monitor that the state needs to ready itself for “a different health future.”
“Let’s not see this as a doom and gloom scenario – let’s talk about how we want our health future to look. We can get there. If we just sit and wait, it won’t be what we want.”
MapNH Health expects that demand for primary care will increase statewide within the next couple of decades. As a result, they suggest that the state should make efforts to recruit more primary care providers and bolster their network of medical professionals.
It also noted that more needs to be done to help seniors, especially those who cannot drive or who are not as mobile, stay in better contact with their doctors and get the medication they need, especially if they choose to age in place within their homes and communities.
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