June 16, 2025
An update to the Massachusetts Healthy Aging Data Report was published last month, providing fresh insights on the health-related needs and behaviors of older adults. In addition to town-level reports, the Massachusetts Healthy Aging Collaborative website highlights statewide trends for older adults. Select metrics are summarized for the MetroWest region here and in the foundation's publications.
In MetroWest communities:
- Despite most (97.1%) older adults having a regular doctor, 1 in 10 have not had a physical exam in the past year.
- While generally on-par with state averages, more can be done for older adults to engage in preventative care; half had not received a shingles vaccine since turning 50 and about one-third had not received a flu vaccine in the past year.
- About one-third have not had a colorectal screening, and about 1 in 5 women has not had a mammogram in the past two years, despite MetroWest communities having some of the highest rates of breast cancer in the state.
Individuals interested in additional benchmarking metrics can reach out to Kate Baker at kbaker@mwhealth.org. The foundation’s data dashboards will be updated with the new Healthy Aging metrics by the end of the month.