A growing elderly population in sub-Saharan Africa points to improved health care but presents a new quandary: coverage for elders. Regional life expectancy rose by 20 years since 1960, guaranteeing a growing elderly population requiring unique care. Rural clinics and…
Longer lifespans across Africa require an approach to long term care that is less reliant on family members, usually women, shouldering the burden, writes Hilda Owii.Caretaking can be a stressful full-time job, and family-based care does not preclude abuse and exploitation…
Meet Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, Ghana. Since 1923, Korle Bu has provided specialist care—including radiotherapy, reconstructive plastic surgery and cardiothoracic medicine—collaborated with international institutions and sent staff to underserved Ghanaian towns…
About 141 million older adults around the world are abused each year, according to researchers from the University of California, Davis. Their review and analysis of 52 studies from 28 countries found an overall prevalence rate of 15.7%—about 1 in 6 older adults worldwide…
Japan has the oldest population in the world, with close to 27% of inhabitants age 65 or older. This week, NPR reporter Ina Jaffe explores how an aging populace is affecting the country’s economy, health care system and culture. Jaffe says a dip in birth rates is one…
Dual forces of longer life expectancy and shifting demographics are increasing the need for policies that support informal caregiving of elders.
A short history of China’s attitude to parents during its one-child policy is revealed in its slogans: 1985: “Family Planning Is Good, the Government Will Take Of You When You Are Old.” 1995: “Family Planning Is Good, the Government Provides Senior Care.” 2012: “…
Many autistic adults who grew up before the term “autism” was part of the public vernacular have spent much of their lives with the wrong diagnosis, consigned to psychiatric institutions or drugged for disorders they never had.
With aging comes handing over the car keys and mapping out transportation alternatives. But seniors and researchers alike acknowledge that it’s not an easy transition. Older adults who give up driving are nearly twice as likely to suffer depression as those who stay behind…
Despite the UN goal to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger globally, Africa’s senior citizens are often falling deeper into destitution.
