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Last Sunday The New York Times Magazine featured an article on global demographics, describing the birth rates in various countries and regions around the world. None of this information is new to those of us in the ageing field but it is good to see that the mainstream press is starting to look seriously at this issue.
As we’ve noted many times in our Global Ageing Network Blog, global ageing will be the defining demographic event of this century and will impact the world in many ways – financial systems, retirement, workforce and even climate change. The NYTimes is a good conversation starter – Let’s keep it going.
There have been numerous articles and studies about the tidal wave of retirees swamping retirement pension systems as the baby boomers leave the workforce. Not only have the prognosticators declared that there will be a financial drain both in terms of increase in health care expenditures as well as in tapping of government pension systems, there will also be a workforce crisis as jobs go empty.
Not so, says Kevin Coyne of the Coyne Partnership. In a recent article in Business Week, Kevin and his business partner Shawn Coyne say that the Silver Tsunami will be more of a trickle – certainly in the US. According to their calculation more older Americans will choose to work beyond age 65 and there will be fewer retirees and more workers.
This is certainly a much rosier picture than we’ve seen elsewhere. Thoughts? Is this true in your country???
As IAHSA’s Global Ageing Network grows, we are blessed with the opportunity to serve as a catalyst for creating new communities of folks who share a common goal.
One such ‘new’ group is the brainchild of Professor Julienne Meyer from City University in London. Julienne and IAHSA are teaming up to take her ‘local’ network global.
By way of background, a few years ago Julienne and her colleagues in England created a UK research forum called the National Care Homes Research and Development Forum, composed of researchers who shared an interest in improving the quality of life for all associated with care homes for older people. The result of this collaboration was the creation of an innovative program called My Home Life - a new initiative aimed at improving the quality of life of those who are living, dying, visiting and working in care homes for older people.
Can we do the same thing on an international level? Of course we can!!!
We are using IAHSA’s 8th International Conference in July 2009 in London as the launching event for the International Research & Development Network.
If you or anyone you know is doing evidenced-based research on issues related to care for the elderly, please read the attached flier. This describes the activities related to the Network that are planned for London in July 2009.
Meanwhile if you have any questions, please get in touch with me at iahsa@aahsa.org or with Julienne at mhl@city.ac.uk.
Can you measure happiness - especially as a function of age?
The European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research in Vienna, Austria, has developed a paper that looks into the relationship of ageing and happiness.
It seems that ageing per se does not result in a decline in happiness. But happiness is closely affected by changing preferences (by the decreasing importance of work, the increasing importance of religion, and the declining disutility of being single), and partly by changing circumstances. While changing preferences seem to increase well-being, changing circumstances seem to decrease it. Old days thus are happy above all due to changing priorities in life.
It seems logical to me.
What do you get when you meld Starbucks, Bally’s Fitness Center and Elderhostel? A Senior Center that is meeting the needs of today’s elderly.
Studies in the US have shown that the senior center of the 21st century needs to include a wider variety of activities, including a full array of programs that promote healthy ageing, continuing education and programs that attract all ages.
According to a recent NYTimes article, the use of senior centers in the US has been declining, primarily because the old models carry a stigma associated with ageing. The new multi-faceted models attract a wider community involvement and can serve as ‘the place to go’ for everyone, not just seniors.
Meet you at the Café for coffee and dance class!!!
Last week I read an article from the Chicago Sun Times about the growing need for creation of accessible housing for the ageing baby boomers in the US - the Post-WW2 generation that will become the largest segment in US history to age at one time.
As they age and begin to hit geriatric roadblocks, some will need special housing.
Making new housing accessible is required by law – making new construction specifically designed to be lived in or visited by people who have trouble with steps or use wheelchairs or walkers.
But the term ‘visitable’ was new to me. And I think a good addition to the vocabulary. It means that the building is inclusive to everyone. It allows a person with a disability to become integrated into a community – to be able to ‘visit’. And these ‘visitable’ homes are designed to allow for greater adaptations as the owners’ needs change.
Tackling unemployment is a major concern in Europe. The European Employment Strategy (EES), initiated in 1997, was created to help European Union countries create more and better jobs. They recently issued a progress report on their effectiveness of the EES in meeting the employment goals for the EU.
According to AGE, The European Older People’s Platform, the EES needs to place more emphasis on helping older workers reconcile professional and private life, enabling them to take time off to care for dependant family members.
Other observations made by AGE include:
- European labor markets are not sufficiently responsive to the challenges of globalization and ageing
- Older workers still represent one of the largest untapped target groups for raising employment
- The lowest participation rates in lifelong learning throughout the EU continue to be those of older workers
As we’ve noted in earlier postings, many countries are looking to have a supply of older workers to help keep the economy going as their population ages and the number of younger workers dwindle. To make this happen governments will need to be more worker friendly and offer incentives to keep folks from retiring. The EES report shows that not to be the case in Europe, yet.
The approaching onslaught of over 70 million aging baby boomers could overwhelm the U.S. health care system and engulf the nation’s tenuous economy, according to a new study, “Will the Boom Bust Health Care?,” by management consulting firm Tefen USA.
Medical News Today reported that the study predicted some severe consequences:
-Health care quality will suffer, with wide variation in treatments and big differences in death rates and surgical complications.
-Federal spending on Medicare and Medicaid will skyrocket, forcing politicians to raise taxes or severely curtail a wide range of other government programs.
-State budgets will suffer under the crush of soaring Medicaid costs, compromising support for education and other local initiatives.
-The nation as a whole will have fewer and fewer dollars to spend on education, environmental protection, scientific research and national security.
“Despite what many people think, the solution is not a single-payer system,” said Barry Calogero, president, Tefen USA, and author of the study. “While socialized medicine provides some advantages from an access standpoint, it does not address the underlying cost and quality issues that threaten the functional integrity of health care in the U.S. The real solution to America’s health care challenges requires three components: implementing tort reforms, mandating the use of best practices and driving systemic process improvement.” The Tefen study provides insights and details on each of these three solution elements.
Design for retirement communities and senior housing is an ever growing field, as providers are becoming more sensitive to consumer needs as well as adopting principles for sustainability.
The American Institute of Architects recently released their 2007 Design for Aging Awards.
It is worth noting that many of the projects on the AIA winners list were also part of IAHSA’s 1st International Design for Ageing Showcase and Symposia that debuted at the IAHSA conference in Malta in the summer of 2007.
We’ll be sponsoring another IAHSA International Design for Ageing Showcase in London in 2009 so stay tuned.
Nintendo, the make of the Wii phenomenon, is taking their virtual world one step further. Earlier I told you about how retirement communities were using the Wii technology to get residents to be part of bowling leagues – increasing opportunity for exercise and social interaction.
According to a USA Today article, in May 2008 Nintendo will roll out the Wii-Fit Balance Board, a small platform where users can exercise, stretch and do yoga with on-screen avatars — all designed to help keep you fit and lose weight.
The Wii Fit product will also include access to the “Wii Fit Channel,” an interactive online channel that lets users check in daily to track fitness progress through weight and body mass index (BMI).
‘Change’ is constantly in the news these days – especially in the USA where all of the Presidential candidates are portraying themselves as ‘agents of change’.
I think that action speaks louder than words – as demonstrated in a recent Wall Street Journal article that eloquently describes 12 individuals who are true agents of change.
Two of these leaders, Eric Dishman and Dr. Bill Thomas, are well known to the IAHSA family, both having appeared at an IAHSA Global Conference in the past. Eric and his colleagues at Intel are developing technologies to help people stay home as they age and become frail. Bill is best known for his pioneering work in culture change and his Eden Alternative program. He also posts daily to his blog Changing Aging. Its very worth reading.
Others are also doing very important work in a wide variety of fields including financial planning, advocacy, retirement living, and urban planning, to name a few.
Let us know who the Ageing Change Agents are in your country.
I’ve known Colin Milner, CEO of the International Council on Active Aging for a number of years. He is one of the most enthusiastic promoters of active ageing and his organization has amazing resources for everyone interested in wellness.
Colin travels constantly. And during his travels he collects information, ideas and facts. As a result he recently identified 8 trends that he thinks will impact the elderly and organizations that serve them, either through direct care or by supplying them with needed products and services.
Here are his trends to watch out for:
- The Internet is becoming the new link to health, social networking and travel
- Retirement communities are reinventing themselves
- Maintaining intellectual skills and brain health is top of mind
- Technology is inspiring activity
- Retirement means Boomers will continue to work – but on their own terms
- Lifelong learning opportunities and interests keep growing
- Age-friendly fitness opportunities are essential
- Health plans will pay for prevention
As Colin says in his report, ‘The ability to function and engage in life is what is important, not chronological age’.
Every time I pick up a paper or go on the Internet, I see more articles about the workforce. Where to find workers, how to train workers, how to keep workers.
And there is no shortage of good advice on the issue. A recent article in Business Week Magazine outlines the 10 Best Corporate Practices for 2008 - showing that sometimes the difference between the best and worst company policies comes down to one thing: trust.
Even though the message has been geared toward industry type corporations, anyone working with people can benefit from the program’s basic messages.
For example:
Pooled Sick-time Banks.
These very smart corporate solutions allow one employer or several to create time banks into which employees can deposit one or more sick days per year, for the use of other employees in the same bank. That way, an employee who has run out of sick time can withdraw time that’s been deposited by other employees. The system is overseen by leaders from the participating organizations who manage the deposits and withdrawals. Pooled sick-time banks are a smart way to support teammates, and they help keep people from suffering financially during a time of crisis.
Your employees are your most valuable asset. Implementing some of these suggestions should help you keep them happy and your organization humming.
When I’m ready to post a message on IAHSA’s Global Ageing Blog, I often cruise the internet, looking at a variety of blogs to see what’s new in the field of ageing and what’s news that will interest IAHSA’s blog readers.
One blog I’ve found is the brain child of Dr. Bill Thomas, founder of the Eden Alternative and professor at Erickson University in Maryland.
His Changing Aging blog not only serves as a vehicle for his thoughts on a wide variety of topics, from Nobel prize winner Doris Lessing to the demise of the Red Hat Society, it also is developing a good list of blogs that deal with ageing. Check it out at changingaging.org
Unfortunately, most of the blogs I’ve found are US based. If you know of ageing related blogs from other parts of the world please send us the links – we’ll blog roll them.
As baby boomers begin to look at retirement, employers will be facing a staff shortage – caused by the global ageing crisis – the most significant demographic event of this century.
The problem is being felt in most developed countries but it is more critical in Canada because it has the largest baby boom population in the Western hemisphere.
Every sector in Canada is scrambling to find ways to persuade older, skilled workers to delay retirement and work past the magic age of 65. However pension rules and mandatory retirement laws are substantial barriers that need to be addressed. Right now only 6% of those over 65 continue working.
Help is near!!! Barbara Jaworski, President & CEO of The Workplace Institute, has created a multifaceted business model that companies can use to engage workers of all ages – especially older workers. The model, published in KAA-BOOM! How to Engage the 50-Plus Worker and Beat the Workforce Crisis, provides a road map for employers.
More information can be found at www.workplaceinstitute.org
