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WHO Work on Health of Elderly peopleWHO's interest in the health care of the elderly goes back to 1955 but it was only in 1974 that a first Expert Committee's report on the subject was published. In 1979 the World Health Assembly adopted its first Resolution targeted to health care of the elderly, that led to the establishment of a global Programme for Health of the Elderly (HEE). Goals of the Programme were to promote health and well-being throughout the entire lifespan and to assist Member States in developing strategies to ensure the availability and provision of comprehensive and holistic health care to elderly populations. A policy paper prepared by WHO for the 1982 World Assembly on Aging convened by the United Nations provided a basis for the Vienna International Plan of Action on Aging which, after endorsement by that Assembly, became the framework for WHO activities between 1982 and 1987. The Plan encouraged Member States to develop demographic and health profiles; formulate programmes for community-based health care for ageing individuals, with special focus on health promotion and self-help care; and to advocate issues related to health of the elderly with scientific and professional organizations. To a large extent these continue to be main programme priority areas within its new conceptual framework which is encapsulated in its new title "Ageing and Health". HEE was a major contributor to a number of scientific meetings on ageing-related issues such as nutritional status, cardiovascular diseases, mental health, prevention of respiratory infections, family life and support, prevention of accidents, and health promotion. The uses of epidemiology in the study of the elderly (1984), an HEE publication, stimulated new approaches to research on ageing. A review of progress in this area over the last decade would be timely. Other programme activities corresponded to recommendations made by the 1987 WHO Expert Committee on Health of the Elderly, and the 40th World Health Assembly Resolution that established a large HEE cross-national research effort with a focus on determinants of healthy ageing; osteoporosis; age-associated dementia; and age-related changes in immune function. After the establishment of this special research initiative in 1987, considerable extra budgetary support was received from different sources for the Programme. The major efforts of the Health of the Elderly Programme in the period 1989-1994 were directed to these research projects. A detailed peer review of this research was conducted in 1995. In more recent years, collaboration within WHO (Regions and Programmes) received new impetus from HEE. Two inter-regional meetings (Alexandria, 1992 - focused on development of national policies; New Delhi, 1994 - focused on awareness-raising/advocacy) were held to discuss a more integrated approach to the HEE Programme. |
