AWN WEEKLY ALERT: NOVEMBER 11

Informed National Strategies and Plans

(EU) European Innovation Partnership agrees on actions to turn ageing into an opportunity
Today, the Steering Group of the pilot European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing agreed on joint actions in response to the societal challenge of an ageing European population. The Group is made up of people from the health and social sectors, businesses, civil society to public authorities. In today’s Strategic Implementation Plan, the Group sets out priority actions to meet the challenge of ageing through innovation. The overarching objective is to ensure that the average European citizen has two more active and healthy years to live by 2020. The implementation plan is the first step towards that objective, and focuses on three main areas of life events: prevention, care and cure, and independent living.
Link to article: European Innovation Partnership agrees on actions to turn ageing into an opportunity (EU)

Europe: leading the way: why the EU must make its development cooperation age-friendly
Older people are some of the poorest of the world’s poor, where 100 million older men and women live on less than a dollar a day. This paper argues that the EU must rise to the challenge of poverty reduction by enabling older men and women to claim their rights and participate fully in development programmes. The authors note that half of older people around the world lack a secure income, and fewer than one in five people over 60 receive a pension. Furthermore, older people are invisible in global policies, targets and guidelines for tackling poverty. This document calls on the EU to lead the way among the international donor community and make its aid age-friendly by actively including older men and women in its development policies. In this sense, member state governments and the European Parliament are required to ensure that the European Commission makes aid age-friendly
Link to report: Europe: leading the way: why the EU must make its development cooperation age-friendly (HelpAge International) 

Enjoy an adequate income: Employment, Pensions and Retirement

(EU) Demographic change: challenges and opportunities for employment
The Employment Committee (EMCO) and the Heads of Public Employment Services (HoPES) organised a conference to discuss the 'Challenges and opportunities for employment vis-à-vis demographic changes' in Warsaw on 10-11 October. The first plenary session focused on 'demographic tendencies and forecast in Europe' and led to a discussion on the impact of the changing age structure of workers on the current and future employment policies. The main conclusions of the workshops submitted by each of the Trio States (Poland, Denmark and Cyprus) were presented in the second plenary session. In the third plenary session invited guests expressed their views on 'effective policies against ageing labour forces – to avoid barriers, grasp chances'.
Link to conference summary: Demographic change: challenges and opportunities for employment (EU)

(US) The Rising Age Gap in Economic Well-being
Households headed by older adults have made dramatic gains relative to those headed by younger adults in their economic well-being over the past quarter of a century, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of a wide array of government data. In 2009, households headed by adults ages 65 and older possessed 42% more median1 net worth (assets minus debt) than households headed by their same-aged counterparts had in 1984. During this same period, the wealth of households headed by younger adults moved in the opposite direction. In 2009, households headed by adults younger than 35 had 68% less wealth than households of their same-aged counterparts had in 1984.
Link to report: The Rising Age Gap in Economic Well-being (PEW Research Centre)

Other News:
(AUS) Clarius Skills Index September Quarter 2011 (Clarius - Report)
(US) Retirement crisis closes in on baby boomers (Reuters)           
(SRI) Towards a pension scheme for the elderly (Sunday Times)
(US) Income Security: Older Adults and the 2007-2009 Recession (US Government Accountability Office – Report)
(US) Who Gets Retirement Plans and Why, 2010 (Investment Company Institute - Report)

Health

(NI) Improving Dementia Services in Northern Ireland A Regional Strategy
The health minister has published a new strategy for improving dementia services in Northern Ireland - but there is no new money to pay for it. Edwin Poots said he would ideally allocate between £6m and £8m additional funding over the next three years. However, he told the assembly he was urging everyone to make better use of existing resources. He said that there was room for greater efficiency in acute sector provision and care homes. It is thought that as many as 1,000 people in Northern Ireland are affected by early onset dementia.
Link to article: Improving Dementia Services in Northern Ireland A Regional Strategy (BBC News)
Link to report: Improving Dementia Services in Northern Ireland - a Regional Strategy (DHSSPS)

(US) Work-relevant MSDs and the older workforce
Organisations must ensure that they are able to provide a healthy and productive environment for older workers, says Kathy Lewis. When does old age begin? At what age does an individual become too old to carry on their current job tasks due to negative ageing effects on their neuromusculoskeletal system? In 44 BC, Cicero, the Roman philosopher and statesman, declared that you must not confuse old age with illness and went on to proclaim the many virtues of increasing age. The concept of "successful ageing" has been discussed for several decades (Havighurst, 1963; Palmore, 1979; Williams, Wirths, 1965). So why is it that ageing itself and the impact on organisations of employing an ageing work­force often get a bad press?
Link to article: Work-relevant MSDs and the older workforce

Other News:
(IRE) Use of generic medication 'could yield huge savings' (Irish Times)
(US) A Neglected Vaccine (New York Times)
(AUS) Experiences count in warding off dementia (Aged Care Insite)
(UK) Six out of ten Alzheimer's cases are undiagnosed... as two thirds of adults don't know difference between old age and dementia (Daily Mail
(US) Researchers Discover Tactic To Delay Age-Related Disorders (Medical News Today)
(US) Assessing Memory Performance In Older Adults (Medical News Today)

Engagement and Age-friendly communities

(UK) Elderly people isolated by technological advances
A charity report found that older people have trouble getting information about public services, such as details of libraries and public transport, because so much of it is kept online. But the head of the WRVS said that changes such as the automated payment of pensions, which means pensioners no longer need to visit the Post Office, can also make them feel lonelier. David McCullough, the chief executive of the charity, pointed out that much of the money being spent on helping elderly people live independently is going on “telehealth” systems that use phones and self-monitoring equipment to avoid trips into town to see a doctor. He said that in some areas, pensioners are even being encouraged to order groceries online rather than receive Meals on Wheels, which would cut the number of welcome visitors to their homes.
Link to article: Elderly people isolated by technological advances (Daily Telegraph)

(US) How to help fight fraud against the elderly
Scams against seniors have become so commonplace that all you think you can do is shake your head and grieve for the people who have lost their money. But from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, a number of organizations have decided to do more than shake their heads. They have come together to open three telephone lines in a nationwide effort to prevent seniors from becoming victims of financial fraud. The Prevent Elder Financial Abuse Call-In program, manned by certified financial planners, heath-care professionals and adult protective services professionals, will be giving out advice and guidance on how to protect yourself and any senior you might know against fraud.
Link to article: How to help fight fraud against the elderly (Washington Post)

Other News:
(AUS) Toyota latest to develop healthcare robots (Aged Care Insite) 

Live in a place like home: Long-term care, independent living and carers

(IRE) Urgent need for Government policy on future Long-Term Care requirements
Nursing Homes Ireland (NHI) today, November 10th, warned the Government of the consequences of not developing a strategy to plan for the care of our ever increasing ageing population. Speaking today at the opening of the organisation’s 2011 annual conference, NHI CEO Tadhg Daly called on the Minister for Health to establish a Forum on Long Term Care to plan for the increasing numbers of older people requiring such care and give clear direction on policy to the nursing home sector.
Link to article: Urgent need for Government policy on future Long-Term Care requirements

(UK) Politics and the Care Conundrum
The state, the older population and wider society have sufficient wealth to finance a properly funded social care system for England. The persistent problems of funding care in England therefore poses what can be termed the ‘care conundrum’, as the underlying cause is not a shortage of money or resources. This paper seeks to explain this 'care conundrum', and its root causes in issues of politics and governance.  Using a 'toolbox' of ideas and theories drawn from political science, the paper identifies multiple factors that may explain the 'care conundrum'
Link to report: Politics and the Care Conundrum (The Strategic Society Centre) 

(US) Alzheimer’s Disease Impact on Caregivers: New Survey Results
A new survey released by the National Family Caregivers Association (NFCA) and Forest Laboratories, Inc. reveals what family caregivers fear most: first, their loved one's general health and physical decline, and second, the fear that Alzheimer's will take away their loved one's ability to communicate. Communication decline with their loved ones is not just a fear but a major source of stress, and also interferes with their ability to fulfill responsibilities/obligations as a caregiver. "Caregiving is incredibly stressful, and also very lonely and isolating, particularly with Alzheimer's disease when the loved one gradually loses the ability to communicate effectively," said Suzanne Mintz, president and chief executive officer of NFCA. "Caregivers have to improvise and find new ways to connect with their loved ones – whether it's on an emotional level or about more practical matters."
Link to article & report: Alzheimer’s Disease Impact on Caregivers: New Survey Results (National Family Caregivers Association)

Other News:
(UK) Provider to import US-style small-scale elderly care homes (Community Care)
(US) A Home for Those Who Hate Nursing Homes (New York Times)
(UK) Nurses In Nursing Home Settings Find It Very Difficulty To Report Errors (This is Money)
(UK) Care cost chaos for the elderly must end (This is Money)