2013 Conference

Financial Services

Longer life expectancy, rapid population growth, and concern for the wellbeing of older adults justify the need for better understanding of older adults’ health and personal finance needs. The purpose of this focus group study was to gain an understanding of the health and finance information needs of older adults. Fifteen consumer focus groups were conducted with older Floridians.  A semi-structured approach was used during the focus groups. The questions asked included: 1) What health topics would you like more information about?; 2) What personal finance topics would you like more information about?; and 3) Do you see your health and finances as being related and if yes, how?  The majority of the 93 individuals who participated were women (n = 71), and were age 60 and older. Results from the focus group data identified 26 information themes. The most significant topics mentioned were Medicare, long-term care planning, informed decision making, independent living, aging process, and fixed income. The majority of the participants voiced a connection between their health and finances.  Knowledge gained from these focus groups was used to inform community education programming aimed at improving the quality of life of older adults by meeting their information needs.