Shifting the perspective on aging: Why we all need to rise to the challenge

Shifting the perspective on aging: Why we all need to rise to the challenge

Blog by Mike Devoy and Alexander Biedermann

In December 2020, the United Nations General Assembly declared 2021-2030 the Decade of Healthy Aging , a global collaboration that aims to improve the lives of older people, their families and the communities in which they live.(1) By 2050, the global population of people over 60 is expected to have reached 2.1 billion.(2) Radical reforms in policy and healthcare provision are required to ensure a future that supports and embraces this demographic shift. Changing the global perspective on aging is an enormous challenge requiring us all to work together; at a global, societal and an individual level. At Bayer, we strive to enable people from all age groups to be and do what they value throughout their lives?while aging actively and healthily.

Join us for our LinkedIn Live event on September 16, from 14:00-15:00 CET, where we will be speaking to two patients about the steps they have taken to live healthy lives following their diagnoses with heart failure and kidney disease, and how we can learn from the past to build a better future. Click here to join the session!

ADDRESSING THE GLOBAL CHALLENGE

Living a longer life opens the door to a wealth of opportunities – new careers, helping family, contributing to communities – but the ability to capitalize on these opportunities is dependent on one crucial factor: health. In our 30 Years From Now series we engaged innovators and aging experts to share their vision of what the world might look like 30 years from now, in light of the global demographic shift.

The experts identified implementation of new policies and strategies as key to addressing the challenge and accommodating the new older demographic. From a societal perspective, countries need to invest in the potential of their citizens, at all ages, and improve financial security in old age, especially for women who may have had limited earning independence. The age of retirement has already increased across Europe, but we need to see the concept of retirement evolve further. It is fundamental that people have the opportunity to be productive and active for as long as possible, both for individual physical and mental wellbeing and for the economy. People of all ages need to appreciate that when you retire, you should still be able to contribute to society.

PROMOTING HEALTH AT ALL STAGES OF LIFE

The way we deliver healthcare also must evolve. Policies need to focus on preventative measures that enable care to be delivered within communities rather than in a hospital setting. Digital innovation and artificial intelligence will be central to this shift, such as technologies that help detect and diagnose disease, and medications that manage symptoms and slow disease progression. But, on their own, they are not enough. We also need to promote healthy living at all stages of life, through lifestyle and mindset changes. We too readily accept that certain conditions associated with getting older are inevitable and are normal consequences of aging, yet these assumptions must be challenged.

DELIVERING AT GROUND LEVEL

Governments, societies, and industry are all waking up to the global mega trend of aging. But how can we contribute, at a ground level, to raise awareness and drive change? For a number of years Bayer has been actively promoting healthy aging through our Healthy Aging Initiative. Promoting awareness and education amongst the public, patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals is of core interest to Bayer.

In the report, Healthy Heart For Healthy Aging , developed by Bayer in collaboration with the Global Coalition on Aging , ‘awareness’ is identified as one of three key areas of action where policy change and increased societal recognition are needed to make a difference. Whilst the report looks at healthy aging through the lens of cardiovascular disease, the identified actions can be applied more widely to the task at hand.

The report recognizes the need to educate the general public about the implications of an aging population, and the importance of preventing chronic diseases and leading healthy lifestyles. Campaigns should encourage individuals to think ahead to their functional ability later in life and make improvements in their daily behaviors and habits accordingly. Educating patients (and healthcare providers) about the available treatments for chronic diseases and the importance of taking those medications as prescribed will empower patients to take proactive control of their condition, ensuring best possible outcomes and reduced hospitalizations.

CONTRIBUTING TO PATIENT SAFETY DAY 2022

That is why, as part of our contribution to Patient Safety Day 2022, we have developed a multimedia campaign to help inform the public about healthy aging and specifically what they can do to protect their heart and kidneys. We use a family of emotive heart and kidney characters to upskill people about the link between heart and kidney disease and encourage them to make healthy lifestyle choices. The campaign recognizes the role younger generations can play in shifting assumptions about aging and living healthier, as well as the contribution the older generation can offer.

A great deal of work needs to be done to shift the perspective on aging and we are all responsible for doing our part. As someone who is living in the 'Decade of Healthy Aging', how will you rise to the challenge?

Article by Mike Devoy, Chief Medical Officer of Bayer and Executive VP Medical Affairs & Pharmacovigilance, and Alexander Biedermann, Senior VP and Head of Global Pharmacovigilance, for the Pharmaceuticals Division

References

1.?????UN Decade of Healthy Ageing (who.int)

2.?????Ageing and health (who.int)

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