Iowa ranked 15th among the states for senior health this year, down from 13th last year, according to the third edition of United Health Foundation’s America’s Health Rankings Senior Report: A Call to Action for Individuals and Their Communities.

Nationwide, the report shows positive trends for senior health, especially for those measures that look at whether seniors are getting the right care in a setting of their choice.

Seniors are experiencing lower hospital readmission rates and preventable hospitalization rates compared with last year, while hospice care use and the number of home health care workers have increased.

Iowa’s strengths include a low prevalence of underweight seniors, prescription drug coverage and low intensive care unit use.

Challenges for Iowa include a high prevalence of obesity and activity-limiting arthritis pain, and a high percentage of low-care nursing home residents.

Click here for an overview of the Iowa findings.