Across the globe, nearly every nation is experiencing population aging. The United Nations states that the percentage of the global population aged 65 and above is expected to rise from 10% in 2022 to 16% in 2050. People aged 60 and older also outnumbered children younger than five years in 2020. While this demographic shift has implications for the social and economic makeup, nations remain siloed in matters regarding population aging. Aging is not only a national issue. It cuts across cultures, personal experiences, and policy frameworks. Hence, societies benefit when they exchange information and insights, build new partnership models, and increase stakeholder engagement.
A recent AARP International Health Attitudes survey examined American interest, those 50+, in learning about the best practices and solutions from other countries, including data that 82% of respondents expressed interest in learning more about healthy aging from outside the U.S. As the survey confirms, there’s much interest in understanding other nations’ approaches to aging and identifying solutions for achieving healthy longevity.
Take, for instance, our epidemic of loneliness, which led experts to call the current share of people living alone “wholly unprecedented historically.” The United Kingdom initially acted by appointing the world’s first minister for loneliness in 2018. Japan later followed in 2021 with their first-ever government minister of loneliness to implement measures preventing social isolation.
We are, after all, a global world, and some nations are capitalizing on that diversity and cultural acceptance. A few years ago, AARP embarked on a knowledge partnership with Foreign Policy (FP) Analytics to establish a Database of Action Plans on Aging (DAPA), said Dr. Vijeth Iyengar, a cognitive neuroscientist by training and director of global aging at AARP. “Among other insights,” explained Dr. Iyengar, “what we found analyzing these various plans was that there were cases where countries (e.g., Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Egypt, Ireland, and Jordan) cited other plans (e.g., Australia, Canada, Chile, Kuwait, Malta, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Wales) as inspiration for the development of their country plans.
His comments confirm that nations can find opportunities to learn from each other and apply best practices to their contexts. As survey results showed, there are opportunities for the U.S. to learn from other health systems when addressing gaps in coverage, accessibility, and affordability for older Americans. Countries could, at the very least, compare and contrast issues to identify areas of improvement, address what’s lacking, or view aging from a different cultural lens.
Sometimes, observing how a region tackled an issue could lead to a positive social change in another region. It is the case with social prescribing. Already popular in England, it is a growing movement in the U.S., and will celebrate its first Social Prescribing Day this March. Social Prescribing involves helping patients to improve their health, wellbeing and social welfare by connecting them to community services. Activities for social prescribing include art and dance classes, intramural sports, supportive peer networks, cooking classes, nature walks, volunteering roles, gardening, communal dining programs, etc. Imagine how such activities could transform our complicated healthcare system because not every issue can or should be solved only with traditional medical care.
“Social prescribing adds a wealth of healing modalities, including engaging in the arts, being in nature, volunteerism, and joining community groups, all with great evidence behind them,” said Dr. Alan Siegel, a medical director and co-founder of Social Prescribing USA. “Using all the tools in the toolbox will transform how we practice medicine and how our patients will heal,” explained Dr. Siegel, a family physician and director of Art of Health and Healing director at Contra Costa Health Services. “It has also been shown to help the providers by offering truly healing options for patients in sync with who they are.” Adopting a practice, especially with a proven track record, is always worth considering because it’s all about seeing the humanity in all people and bettering their lives.
The future of global aging looks promising. “I do see a further evolution of the framing of global aging, ” said Dr. Iyengar. I believe it will transition from being viewed as a demographic issue to an issue touching on national security and competitiveness.” Hence, we must first start somewhere. Bringing together a global community of population aging, like the recent AARP Global Thought Leadership Conference, can help initiate discussions and address the megatrend that is aging. Low and middle income countries, projected to increase their number of older adults, must also have a seat at the table.
Addressing the challenges and opportunities of population aging will require concerted efforts by healthcare providers, communities, governments, families, and friends to support older adults everywhere.
