One out of every 11 people on earth is currently 65 years old or older. This is excellent news. By 2050, the United Nation predicts the figure will be nearer one in six. Even better. Why? Because, an aging population, as Natalia Kanem, executive director of UNFPA explained in a 2017 speech, “is the outcome of great achievements in health and nutrition and reflects a better quality of life around the globe. It is a triumph of development.”
Despite this triumph, most media coverage of aging is negative. Worries about social security, care staff shortages and shrinking labor market get more attention than how older persons can live not only longer, but well.
In this piece, we’ll look at technological, social and policy solutions used by three countries to help older persons remain healthy and active for long as possible.
JAPAN – Average Age: 47.3 years, Under 15: 12.84%, Over 65: 27.87%
Countries like Japan, Germany, Italy and Finland are founder members of the super-aging club. The only entrance requirement: an over age 65 population of more than 20%. As a founding member, Japan has been finding ways to improve the lives of its older persons for more than a generation.
Adults in Japan work long hours often far away from their homes. Most people don’t have time to see their own families let alone care for their parents. To help with this, Japanese automakers and technology companies are using their expertise to develop robots for care tasks.
According the Independent, Shin-tomi, a Tokyo nursing home, uses more than 20 different robot models to help. Robotic technology help with everything from leading exercise classes to cleaning rooms.
Robots providing care may seem cold to Westerners, but Japanese older persons view them as friendly, helpful and fun. Paro is a therapeutic robot for dementia patients. It is shaped like a furry, harp seal pup. In addition to being nice to touch, Paro stops crying when cuddled and knows its own name.
79-year-old Saki Sakamoto told the Independent about her experience, “when I first petted it, it moved in such a cute way. It really seemed like it was alive.” She said that once she touched it, she couldn’t let go.
Now in its eight generation, Paro has been exported to nursing homes all over the world.
There are government grants in Japan for companies that are developing robotic technology for elder care. The success of Paro and the fact that Bulgaria, Greece, France, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden will all be joining the super-aging club by 2020 has many businesses eyeing the global market.
CANADA – Average Age: 42.2 years, Under 15: 15.44% Over 65: 18.63%
Because of its relatively high levels of immigration, Canada is a bit further behind in the aging game than Europe. The percentage of over-65s is nearly at 19%. Projections estimate that it will take about 5 more years before it becomes a super-aging country. Because of a mobile population and the large geographic area, it is not unusual for parents and children to live a plane ride away from each other. Social isolation and depression are big risks even for older persons living in care homes.
To combat this, care homes are exploring alternatives to the traditional model. Niverville Heritage Centre near Winnipeg hosts more than 100 weddings a year onsite. More than 50,000 people from the community visit each year to see their doctor, dentist or pharmacist. It’s a community hub. Niverville’s CEO Steve Neufeld told the Vancouver Sun, “We found seniors don’t want to be retired to a quiet part of the community and left to live out their lives. They want to live in an active community and retreat back to their suite when they want that peace and quiet.”
Trent University in Peterborough is exploring the possibility of having university students live with older persons in their home. The idea is modelled after a successful intergenerational living project in Toronto. In this model, students do the household chores in exchange for reduced rent. The older person, in turn, can stay in their house longer and age in place.
SINGAPORE – Average Age: 34.6 years, Under 15: 12.82%, Over 65: 9.63%
Some very young countries will become super-aging countries in much less time than the founding members of the club. Japan and Germany have been aging faster than average than Western countries, but it has taken them more than half a century to be super-aging countries. Singapore, which had just 7% of its population over 65 in 1999, will reach 20% by 2026.
Singapore has two main advantages over founding members of the super-agers club. The first is that they can learn from others and cherry-pick programs and policies instead of reinventing the wheel. The second is that technology has advanced a lot in the last 30 years. This makes things like geo-fencing, robot carers and video technology not only cheaper but more accessible.
To keep everyone on the same page, the government has developed a plan called The Action Plan for Successful Aging. The plan covers 12 areas, including healthcare, housing, transport, retirement adequacy, social inclusion, to protection for vulnerable seniors.
Singapore is also addressing the problem of working past the standard retirement age. Like many countries, there are older persons in Singapore who are forced to retire even though they are happy to keep working and healthy enough to do so. To solve this, the government passed a new law in 2017 that requires employers to offer employees a job for five years past the current retirement age. Employers who hire anyone over age 65 receive also get a tax break.
