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The Netherlands has long been viewed as the country where you want to go old, mostly because of the generous government support and the quality of care they deliver. The Dutch have also been leaders in developing programs so the elderly can age independently in the community.
Caring Management Matters, an IAHSA media partner, recently published an article by Guus Bannenberg, CEO of the Swinhove Group, and Rien Van Der Kolk, CEO of the Rijnhoven Group, on ageing in the Netherlands. They will both be presenting a session about their ageing programs at IAHSA’s 8th International Conference in London next month. Be there to meet them.
Ageing in place is taking center stage in Ontario, Canada, as the provincial government announced this week an investment of C$272 million into programs to help seniors live healthier, more independent lives.
As reported in Metronews.ca, programs like Aging at Home are projected to increase quality of care, relieve family burdens and free up hospital beds.
Ageing in Place programs are necessary to help deal with the changing demographics and will be featured in the education sessions at IAHSA’s 8th International Conference in London in July.
The Singapore government announced this week that it will be taking a ‘whole of government approach to ageing’, meaning that they will commit significant resources, both financial and organizational, to address the coming age wave.
As reported in Channelnewsasia, the plan will include resources to comprehensively adopt the principles of ‘ageing in place’ so the elderly will have more choices to live in housing appropriate to their stage in life and financial situation.
IAHSA was part of the Asian Ageing Forum in Singapore in January and was included in high level ministerial meetings where ageing in place was the focus. IAHSA’s 8th International Conference in London in July will feature a number of sessions on ageing in place and community services.
What all of us really want as we age is to stay in our own home. Or move to a place that is comforting and friendly and that we can call home.
According to a report in the Toronto Star, Denmark – and neighbouring Sweden – are the best places in the world to grow old. Both have strong, cradle-to-grave social programs, and compete with each other – and with their Scandinavian cousins Norway and Finland – to give their citizens the best comprehensive elder care.
The systems in these countries are designed to try to keep the elderly at home as long as possible, with home care services and visits by doctors. And they encourage the elderly to be self sufficient and active. It seems to be working.
You can learn more about the Danish ageing services model at IAHSA’s Conference in London”next July.
In the UK, local councils provide support for the elderly who need care and services. A recent report by the UK NHS Information Centre, England’s authoritative, independent source of health and social care information, showed that there was a marked change is where the elderly are receiving services.
The report identified that there was a decrease in the number of people paid for partly or entirely by their local council to live in a residential or nursing home and increase in the number of people being supported to live independently in their own home.
The trend among IAHSA members is to enable the elderly to have the services they need, when they need them, in a place they call home. This report shows that it is happening in the UK.
Earlier this year, the highest levels of Chinese government representatives had a critical discussion about the welfare of the nation’s growing elderly population. The result of the meeting was a new nationwide proposal to shift from the past model of family responsibility for eldercare to create a new community-based model for ageing in place with the establishment of new community-based elder services.
To introduce comprehensive and effective community-based services China faces a number of challenges, including finding and training workers, establishing a compensation system that is supportable and coordinating all funding streams to support the services.
As reported on the website Community Alliance, the plan is under the guidance of 10 government departments, including the China National Committee on Aging [CNCA] and the National Development and Reform Commission.
IAHSA’s Global Ageing Network has recently expanded into new territory – implementation of a global technology network.
Earlier in 2008 IAHSA and the Center for Aging Services Technologies [CAST] entered into an agreement to foster the development of CAST Affiliated Action Networks [CAST AAN] with IAHSA member organizations around the world.
Last week the first CAST AAN was formed in Australia, thanks to the leadership of Greg Mundy at ACSA and Rod Young at ACAA, IAHSA’s affiliate associations.
The Australian CAST AAN will also include members from the Aged Care Industry IT Council as well as other research and industry representatives.
IAHSA and the CAST AANs will promote the development, evaluation and adoption of emerging technologies that have the potential to support people as they age. Contact us if you would like more information about how to organize a CAST AAN in your country.
Established in Ireland a few years ago, the TRIL Centre is a coordinated collection of research projects addressing the physical, cognitive and social consequences of ageing, all informed by ethnographic research and supported by a shared pool of knowledge and engineering resources.
The TRIL Centre’s mission is to discover and deliver technology solutions which support independent ageing, ideally in a home environment. This will improve the quality of life of older citizens while reducing the burden on carers and on the health care system. The Project is a collaborative effort combining Intel personnel and researchers from Irish universities and hospitals in multi-disciplinary teams.
IAHSA members learned about TRIL from Eric Dishman in Malta in 2007. Stay tuned for an update in London July 2009.
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