Report on ILC Global Alliance 2009

Global Aging Report (1088KB)

Publications by ILC Centers 2009

This brief summaries a public debate exploring decumulation in the context of the economic downturn.

This report summaries the presentations, discussions and ideas which emerged from the Ministerial Dementia Research Summit held in July 2009 at the Royal Society in London.

Older people aren’t always getting the most from their retirement savings, according to a new report, by Jackie Wells for the International Longevity Centre.

Associate Isabella Aboderin and Ferreira are co-authored on ageing in the Africa Region in The International Handbook on Aging. Current research and developments (Palmore, Whittington & Kunkel, Eds) (Greenwood Press)

Preliminary draft report from the Social, Health and Family Affairs Committee of the European Parliamentary Assembly Rapporteur: Mr Denis JACQUAT with the support of ILC France

This brief summaries a public debate exploring the future of personal accounts and pension reform after the credit crunch.

A first-of-its-kind consensus report addresses the challenges facing both consumers and policymakers when considering solutions for independent living. It outlines specific recommendations for independent living focusing on the culture of aging, living arrangements, health care & caregiving and environmental design. Experts covering the areas of geriatric medicine, public health, caregiving, architecture, and home healthcare technology give their opinions on what creates the ideal independent living environment.

A report summarizing an ILC-UK and Actuarial Profession joint-conference called “Choosing Population Projections for Public Policy”, that looked at the formulation of population projections and how they are used by policymakers

This report summarises the discussions of two working groups convened by the ILC-UK to explore the ‘National Care Fund’ model, originally set out in the February 2008 ILC-UK publication: “A National Care Fund for Long-term Care."

As people live longer and are less able to cope with the demands of the living arrangements they have had throughout their adulthood, various alternative venues for independent or assisted senior living have emerged. Increasingly older persons are considering a range of new living options, wherein they reside rather independently in apartments or suites while relying on their designated adult community for services. Although the types of facilities available to older people differ in their resources, community culture, and specific activities, all face a similar issue: trying to ensure that their residents or clients are satisfied with their living arrangement and ultimately happy and functional in their new environment. The purpose of this report is to gain understanding and encourage further research on the importance of satisfaction and well-being for older adults making transitions in their residential living arrangements.
Author: Elizabeth Manus

A research report formed from an expert roundtable discussion and dinner on 'Recent Progress & Innovation in Dementia, Diagnosis, Treatment and Care' held in June 2009 in the House of Lords.

Japan is setting the pace among the aging societies of the world. People aged 65 and over now make up over one-fifth of the population and in twenty years will reach one-third. How are individual older people faring in this “longevity society?”
“A Profile of Older Japanese” is a compilation of data from various ministries of the national government and other sources, along with brief interpretations.It is organized into six sections: “The Aging Population and Aged Society,”“Living Arrangements,” “Health Status,” “Family and Long-Term Care,”“Economic Status,” and “The New-Old and Social Participation.”

This five year lingitudinal survey and research has eventually come to an end. It aims to identify diverse factors which sustain independent daily life of people aged 75 and older, as well as guidelines for independence in aging society.
Year-by-year changes of their general living condition were surveyed, including Instrumental Activities of Daily Living, mind and body conditions, families and friends, human relationship in the communities, housing conditions, health care and long-term care, etc.

The first issue of “Global Information Journal on Longevity and Society”was published in Japanese in July 2006, with the aims of conveying the significance of conscious dealing with information and its effective use, while realizing wealthy longevity society, improving the QOL in individual lives.
Every issue of the Journal has its coherent theme, including an interview or a talk at the top, by leading persons in respective fields. By striving for enlightenment related to challenges in an aging society with declining birthrate, the Journals have been well received.
ILC-Japan has currently published the English version of “Global Information Journal on Longevity and Society 2008” extracted from issues No.5 to No.9 following Y2007’s version.

In the development of sustainable housing and care schemes innovative citizen’s initiatives will pay a major role in the future.
Innovative citizen’s initiatives can play a major role in the development of new, sustainable housing and care schemes in the near future. The report on Pioneering Citizen’s Initiatives, written examples from different countries, for instance the Village movement in the US, care cooperatives in The Netherlands and intergenerational planning in the UK and Germany. Important factors are the scale of the neighborhood, entrepreneurial attitudes and the cooperation with professional planners and architects as well as suppliers.

The current study examined a groundbreaking program designed to reduce elder abuse and neglect, which was developed by ESHEL in partnership with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Services and implemented in three local authorities in 2005-2007. The intervention model consisted of two level of action: direct work with elders identified as victims of abuse (a combination of the main means of treating abuse and group therapy) and community work to raise awareness of the problem and mobilize professional partners providing services to the elderly in the community. The data in the report present a comprehensive picture of the characteristics of the victims and abusers, the types of abuse, patterns of intervention and the impact of the program on the participants, social workers and program partners.

A collection of expert essays exploring how the 'lifetime neighbourhoods agenda' for housing and the built environment can respond to the economic downturn.

Longevity can only be considered a privilege if the majority of the elderly population are active and in good health. Dependency is mostly due to age-related diseases. The second cause is “frailty” and the third is inactivity or, more generally, lifestyle. All age-related diseases have modifiable risk factors and are thus accessible to prevention.

With the longevity revolution, humankind enters a new and unprecedented stage of development, the impact of which is even greater because of its rapidity. This report/styleguide is an important step in overcoming ageist language and beliefs by providing journalists and others who work in the media with an appropriate body of knowledge, including a lexicon that helps redefine and navigate this new world.

Living Longer, Working Longer: A French Challenge
(Jan. 09, ILC-France)

In France, in 2008, 21.8% of the 61.8 million inhabitants were over 60 years of age. Mean life expectancy at birth and at 60 is continuously progressing up to 77.6 years at birth and 22 years at 60 for men and 84, 5 years at birth and 26, 9 years at 60 for women. However, the rate of activity decreases significantly in the older population. In 2005, the participation rate in the labour market for the 55-64 age group was 37.9 %, while Sweden holds a rate of 69%. The report describes demographic data, examines the causes and suggests solutions.

Full Paper (321KB)