How different generations feel about their health

Aflac surveyed 2,001 U.S. adults across four different generations: Gen Z (18 to 29 years), millennials (30 to 45 years), Gen X (46 to 61 years), and baby boomers (62 to 69 years). A majority of the respondents were white/Caucasian (76%).

According to the survey, Gen Z respondents felt the most positive about all aspects of their life, including how they look and feel, their weight/BMI, financial health, mental health, and physical health. They also felt the most confident about their ability to control all these different aspects.

The number of health and wellness professionals involved in a person's life also led to greater confidence about being about to control different health and wellness outcomes. People who had one to two health and wellness professionals involved in their lives consistently felt better about their health than those who had none.

However, the types of healthcare professionals people had involved in their lives varied by generation. Gen Z and millennials were much less likely to have a primary care physician (PCP) than older generations, but they were more likely to have a mental health therapist. Eighteen percent of millennials and 15% of Gen Z had both a PCP and mental health therapist.

Younger generations were also more likely to have more than one health professional than older generations, with 25% of Gen Z and millennials having three or more health professionals compared to 11% of Gen X and 7% of baby boomers.

How AI is affecting people's health habits

People are increasingly turning to technology to answer their health questions instead of healthcare professionals.

In the survey, 49% of respondents said they used an online search to manage their health in the past 12 months, compared to 40% who said they used a doctor, nurse, or health professional. The use of AI for health is also growing, with 24% of respondents saying that used an AI tool to manage their health in the past 12 months. 

Commentary

According to Matthew Owenby, chief HR officer and chief administrative officer at Aflac, "[y]oung Americans are replacing in-person preventive care with the convenience and speed of digital health support."

"The use of AI and other digital-first healthcare resources isn't inherently negative, as it ultimately depends on how the information is used," Owensby said. However, "[w]hat is alarming is the rate that Gen Z is delaying or forgoing preventive care, greatly lessening the opportunity for early detection or a critical health diagnosis from a medical professional."

At the same time, Carol Chouinard, VP and provider technology practice lead at Optum Advisory*, said that while consulting AI isn't as good as consulting a PCP, younger generations being "willing to engage in their care is overall a very positive trend."

It is also easier to access an AI tool compared to a PCP, Chouinard said. People can interact with, follow up, and get more details from an AI tool more quickly and easily than a healthcare professional most of the time.

However, the quality of the information people can get will depend on the AI platform they decide to consult. "Teenagers have yet to be able to distinguish between an AI-generated TikTok video vs. consulting with Copilot Health or Claude," Chouinard said.

Ben Isenhour, a senior director of provider technology consulting at Optum Advisory, also highlighted the need for healthcare organizations to engage with patients using tools that they're most comfortable with. "These digital-first trends make it critical for healthcare organizations to adopt the AI patient engagement tools EHR vendors are now offering," he said.

For example, "[a] portal-based AI agent lets patients get answers grounded in their actual clinical history, while giving health systems a built-in path to pull in the right clinician, demonstrating the human-in-the-loop commitment that safe, trustworthy healthcare requires," Isenhour said.

Overall, "people engaging more in their care is good, and the access provided by good AI is great," Chouinard said. But people will need to ensure that the AI platform they consult is high quality.

*Advisory Board is a subsidiary of Optum. All Advisory Board research, expert perspectives, and recommendations remain independent.