DECADE OF HEALTHY AGEING -BASELINE REPORT | WHO

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Healthy ageing is “the process of developing and maintaining the functional ability that enables well- being in older age”. The goal of the Decade is to optimize older people’s functional ability. Functional ability includes: 1) ability to meet one’s,
basic needs; 2) ability to learn, grow and make decisions; 3) mobility; 4) ability to build and maintain, relationships; and 5) ability to contribute. Functional ability combines the intrinsic capacity of the individual, the environment a person lives in and how people interact with their environment. DECADE OF HEALTHY AGEING -BASELINE REPORT | WHO results across 42 countries include data on 151 718 older people (age 60 years and over), with 68 456 men (45%) and 83 262 women (55%)

‘The Decade provides opportunities to work together, to improve functional ability by 2030, with older people involved from the beginning, The report presents a six-point pathway to optimize functional ability, with four action areas, namely: change how we think, feel and act towards age and ageing:  ensure that communities foster older people’s abilities; deliver parson-centered integrated care and services

Healthy ageing is  “the process of developing and maintaining the functional ability that enables well-being in older age”.

Five Issues

‘The Baseline Report for the Decade of Healthy Ageing 2021-2030 addresses five Issues:

1. Introduces Healthy Ageing, the Decade’s, actions and enablers, and a pathway to accelerate impact by 2030.

2. Where are we in 2020? The report provides a first-time baseline for healthy ageing worldwide.

3. What improvements could we expect by 2030? It documents progress and scenarios for improvement.

4. How can we accelerate impact on the lives of ‘older people? It shows how older people and stakeholders can together optimize functional ability.

5. The next steps including opportunities to boost collaboration and impact by 2023, the next reporting period.

Baseline Results of DECADE OF HEALTHY AGEING

1. Globally, in 2020, two-thirds of older people live in middle-income countries.
2. By 2030, 1 in 6 people will be 60 years of age or older.
3. At least 142 million older persons worldwide are unable to meet their basic needs.
4. Optimizing functional ability is a key to healthy ageing.
5. Governments and other stakeholders must invest in data to monitor healthy ageing across the life course.
6. ‘Actions must be accelerated to make a measurable impact on older persons by 2030; older people must be engaged at all stages.
7. Global evidence and cases highlight whatcan be done and what we can learn.

 

Three components of healthy ageing

Understanding the three components of healthy ageing

Environment

Environment are where people live and conduct their lives.Environments shape what older people with a given level of intrinsic capacity can be and do.Environments include the home, community and broader society, and all the factors within them.

1. products, equipment and technology that facilitate movement, sight, memory and daily functioning;
2. the natural or built environment;
3. emotional support, assistance and relationships provided by other people and animals;
4. attitudes (as these influence behavior both negatively and positively); and more broadly
5. services, systems and policies that may or may not contribute to enhanced functioning at older ages.

 

INTRINSIC CAPACITY

comprises all the physical and mental capacities that a person can draw on. Important domains
include a person’s: locomotor capacity (physical movement); sensory capacity (such as vision and hearing); vitality (energy and equilibrium); cognition; and psychological capacity.Intrinsic capacity comprises all the physical and mental capacities that a person can draw on important domains include a person’s:
1. locomotor capacity (physical movement);
2. sensory capacity (such as vision and hearing);
3. vitality (energy and balance);
4. cognition;
5. psychological capacity.

Functional ability

Functional ability combines the intrinsic capacity of individual, the environment a person lives in and how people interact with their environment.Functional ability includes:

1) ability to meet one’s,basic needs;

2) ability to learn, grow and make decisions;

3) mobility;

4) ability to build and maintain, relationships; and

5) ability to contribute.

Conclusion

As the Decade of Healthy Ageing begins, active engagement of older people should be the new normal. Cases from around the world show that older people are driving change and their contributions benefit their families, communities and society as well as their own well-being. We now have a baseline and we must act quickly to put us on track for the improvements we want to see by the end of the Decade in 2030. As a conclusion, we have an opportunity to boost partnerships for change and accelerate impact by the next reporting period, 2023.

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