COST Actions met in Brussels to connect with policymakers and experts to discuss how our ageing population will shape the world in the coming decades.
The current challenge that Europe and the world face due to the ageing population is known as the “silver tsunami”. As the population ages, there are several significant challenges that arise. It is expected that the number of people older than 80 years is to increase six times by 2100. We now live twice as long as our great-grandparents, and our population is up eightfold — from 1 billion to 8 billion.
One major challenge is the strain on resources, such as healthcare and pensions, as older people require more medical attention and financial support. This can lead to increased costs for governments, businesses, and individuals.
There is also a need for new policies and programs to support older adults, including affordable and accessible healthcare, housing, and social services. This requires a rethinking of traditional systems and practices and the development of innovative solutions.
COST Connect on Ageing in Europe
On 20 and 21 of April 2023, COST hosted a COST Connect event in an attempt to explore the challenges and evaluate opportunities. This event aimed to offer a platform for a multi-stakeholder discussions and interactions on this topic. Representatives of COST Actions active in the field, as well as the European Commission, the EIT, and other stakeholders attended the event to raise these questions and discuss potential opportunities with frontline researchers.
“It is of utmost importance to include all stakeholders – researchers, innovators, end-users, health practitioners and governments – in this endeavour, in order to ensure success and sustainability,” says Irina Kalderon, Policy Officer from DG CNECT of the European Commission. Ms Kalderon adds, “there is a need to develop and integrate innovative digital solutions for the prevention, treatment and monitoring of age-related health problems. This will support the health and well-being of older adults”.
“The COST Connect format is enabling, namely the exchange of best practices and experiences between researchers and innovators in the field and between different regions in the EU.”
Ms Irina Kalderon, European Commission
During the event, COST Action participants had the opportunity to present their research network, exchange views and make new connections. Several questions were raised to discuss ageing population and its impact on society in a multidisciplinary approach, considering the various aspects surrounding old age.
COST Actions actively involved in ageing issues
NET4AGE-Friendly COST Action supports the creation and implementation of smart, healthy indoor and outdoor environments for present and future generations. Who Cares in Europe highlighted the historical perspective through the lens of social welfare to understand the current policies and reinvent new approaches. DIGI-net network works on inequalities in later life redefined by digitalisation to overcome critical gaps old people face in their daily life. While PhyAgeNet pointed that physical activities in old age have to take into account the diversity, and we need to consider the health biography to adopt a tailored approach of exercises as may not fit to everyone. Fintech and Artificial Intelligence in Finance (FinAI) looks at the increasing inclusion of aged people through digital skills training, since the silver economy may offer opportunities. Learning digital skills can be adapted according to specific target audiences who have not had digital access compared to younger generations, such as elderly people among other groups.
The Ethics in Dementia (EDEM) network is exploring ethical problems in dementia care in different European contexts, which highlights the importance of mapping principles to address these problems within an ethical framework. PROGRAMMING COST Action focuses on geriatric medicine in countries where it is still emerging to develop a pragmatic set of actions to improve professional education in Geriatric Medicine among health professional involved in taking care of older people. By the year 2060 – 1 in 3 will suffer from Osteoarthritis, and to this day, there is no cure. Therefore, that’s the aim of the Open European Network on OsteoArthritis (NetwOArk) to set up a European Society for Osteoarthritis, a common and growing disease that is affecting 240 million people worldwide.
IMMUPARNET COST Action establishes a first multidisciplinary ecosystem to fight the fragmentation of efforts and approaches, both in research and clinical practice. The network aims to boost research towards the development of innovative treatments for Parkinson Diseases affecting 600,000 people in the EU. Like Osteoarthritis, it has no cure, hence patients rely only on symptomatic treatments. And finally, the EuroFamNet network highlights that family support that plays a key role: it requires a common umbrella at a European level, under which family support and parenting policies can be included.
From medical, geriatric medicine and elderly diseases to new care approaches, adapted habitats and the creation of smart healthy environment, COST Actions discussed what future prospects are available for the elderly as we live longer, what type of care, how the digital factor can be implemented to support elders and investigating new cure for diseases still affecting numerous people worldwide.
“The COST Connect meeting provided an excellent overview of the various COST projects that are ongoing in various topics of ageing. Ageing is a broad research area, transversal to many disciplines, and it is very difficult to follow the progress, activities and initiatives beyond one’s are of expertise. It was excellent to have had the opportunity to interact with colleagues working on ethics, geriatric medicine, osteoarthritis, medical devices and health gadgets, information technologies, interventions in the community.” says Prof. Manuel Santos, Director of MIA-Portugal – Multidisciplinary Institute of Aging and involved in a Horizon 2020 twinning project on ageing.
Overall, the ageing population shall be the main focus of the forthcoming decades and remains a significant challenge for Europe and the world. It is therefore essential to develop effective strategies to address these issues and support older adults as they age.
Prof. Santos adds, “I was particularly impressed with the quality and ambition of the projects and the connection between science and technology. Some of the projects are very relevant to our work on ageing, and it was very important to know new members of the ageing community with whom we can interact in the near future”.
