Back to Annual Meeting

Back to Annual Meeting

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Kate Tulenko, MD, MPH, MPhil, Water and Sanitation Program, World Bank, 1818 H St, NW, MS H3-307, Washington, DC, DC 20433, 202 473-1066, ktulenko@worldbank.org

The vast majority of the world's seniors live in developing countries and aging populations are a concern in developing countries as well as in developed countries. Yet most aging-in-place research has focused on developed countries which have smaller senior populations and greater resources to address the issues. It has too easily been assumed that extended family networks in developing countries will care for seniors as they have done in the past. But as seniors in developing countries live longer, more women work outside of the home, adult children migrate for work opportunities, as well as the loss of many adult children to HIV/AIDS, developing country seniors can no longer rely on the extended family for all their care. This study examines a variety of programs and policies to support seniors in developing countries to live in their own homes or the homes of relatives rather than moving into state-supported facilities. Programs were examined in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Programs included day care, feeding programs, home modifications, home health services, transport services and safety checks. The following variables are examined: price, convenience, acceptability, and safety. Policy implications and cost effectiveness are also discussed as well as future research needed.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize that aging populations and aging-in-place are a global concern, not just one limited to Europe, North America, and Japan.
• Describe innovative ways that low resource countries have supported aging-in-place.
• Apply some aspects of innovative international aging-in-place programs to US based programs.
• Assess the potential implications of innovative international programs for US aging policy.

Keywords: Aging, In-Home Care

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No