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Pages 80-115

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From page 80...
... grants to individuals for engaging in midcareer training. METRICS AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS Suggested metrics for evaluating progress on reaping the longevity dividend include • older worker labor force participation rates, • volunteer opportunities available for older adults, and • proportion of the population involved in volunteer activities.
From page 81...
... 2019. Labor force participation rate for workers age 75 and older projected to be over 10 percent by 2026.
From page 82...
... 2020. A systematic review of causes of recent increases in ages of labor market exit in OECD countries.
From page 83...
... 2017. The effect of age-targeted tax credits on labor force participation of older workers.
From page 84...
... 2021. The effect of an increase of the retirement age on the health, well-being, and labor force participation of older workers: A systematic literature review.
From page 85...
... 2010. Effect of retirement on major chronic conditions and fatigue: French GAZEL occupational cohort study.
From page 87...
... These conditions include unjust economic structures, poorly designed policies and programs, harmful governing practices, unequal shares of social and economic resources, or a combination of all of these factors and more. Consequently, many activists and scholars argue that SDOH are more accurately framed as "social determinants of inequalities in health." The distribution of resources and opportunities -- for health care, education, a healthy living environment, and employment -- is fundamental to healthy longevity and is directly impacted, either positively or negatively, by public policy.
From page 88...
... Promising SDOH solutions, if brought to scale, can have far-reaching positive effects for societies worldwide and contribute to global healthy longevity. The remainder of this chapter describes the key targets that the commission selected based on their ability to catalyze change toward healthy longevity: capitalizing on the prosocial strengths of older people, combating ageism, fostering social inclusion, ensuring financial security in retirement, and achieving digital literacy.
From page 89...
... This chapter addresses the key targets related to social infrastructure the commission believes are most integral to healthy longevity. Key targets include capitalizing on the prosocial strengths of older people, combating ageism, fostering social inclusion, ensuring financial security, and improving digital literacy.
From page 90...
... report Social Determinants of Health and Well-Being Among Young People, address the relationship between SDOH and younger people. Poverty prevention, education, secure and safe housing, social support systems, and access to integrated health systems at all ages are also important for ensuring healthy longevity.
From page 91...
... Impacts of Poverty and Inequality on Life Expectancy Recent research illustrates the critical importance of certain social determinants for achieving healthy longevity. Life expectancy follows a social gradient, whereby the more deprived an area, the shorter the life expectancy of its population (Marmot, 2020)
From page 92...
... within its population -- threaten the achievement of equitable healthy longevity. In 2020, the United Nations' (UN's)
From page 93...
... Conclusion 4-1: In designing and implementing policies to promote healthy longevity, it will be essential to acknowledge the cumulative ef fects of social determinants of health across the life course. With equity at the core of these policies, governments can address the historical and structural inequalities that have translated into a poor baseline of health for some populations as they enter the second half of life.
From page 94...
... In the commission's vision for healthy longevity (see Chapter 2) , maintaining health into the second half of life will enable older people to remain engaged in their communities.
From page 95...
... However, the nature of social networks changes with age. Abundant evidence demonstrates positive developmental trends in social and emotional functioning as people age, including evidence that older people are more prosocial than younger people.
From page 96...
... Conclusion 4-2: Societies with healthy longevity can capitalize on the emotional stability and prosocial strengths of older people by enabling them in their existing roles and emerging new roles. KEY TARGET: AGEISM AND AGE DISCRIMINATION One of the most significant barriers to achieving healthy longevity is ageism.
From page 97...
... . As discussed in Chapter 3, ageism is also a factor in decreased labor force participation among older people.
From page 98...
... As a high-risk group, older women especially become increasingly vulnerable to neglect, isolation, poverty, and food insecurity and required tailored assistance to meet their needs. In 2021, the United Nations and Women's Peace and Humanitarian Fund launched a fund to support women's rights organizations in Lebanon, with the goal of enhancing women's participation in the Beirut port explosion response and recovery process.
From page 99...
... Interventions for Combating Ageism A recent meta-analysis suggests that "relatively low-cost, feasible strategies involving education and intergenerational contact can serve as the basis of effective interventions to prevent ageism" and address the digital divide that keeps many older adults from using technology (Burnes et al., 2019, p.
From page 100...
... Intergenerational contact interventions combat ageism by providing a platform for different age groups to build meaningful relationships. For older adults, these interventions can lead to improved health and psychological well-being by decreasing loneliness and in creasing sense of purpose.
From page 101...
... Finding 4-3: Ageism is a barrier to achieving healthy longevity across all countries and cultures, especially when compounded with other forms of discrimination, such as sexism or racism. Finding 4-4: Countries have initiated successful programs to combat ageism by creating a culture with positive expectations of and about older people to improve the well-being and productivity of people as they age.
From page 102...
... that are prohibited under international human rights law. Research Questions While many recommendations and metrics have been released in recent years as this topic has grown in importance, many interventions still lack solid evidence, and questions remain about how best to prioritize resources and populations.
From page 103...
... Although this report focuses mainly on older adults, given the high proportion of young people in many countries and extended life expectancies, understanding these interactions and potential discrimination that occurs between generations is another opportunity for greater insight. KEY TARGET: SOCIAL INCLUSION Isolation is defined as the experience of being alone (a state of objective physical separation)
From page 104...
... When paired with the increasing prevalence of chronic conditions as people age, this rise in loneliness can contribute to several comorbidities affecting healthy longevity. Leveraging Religious and Spiritual Connections Healthy aging is positively associated with religiosity and spirituality.
From page 105...
... . Box 4-3 highlights a pilot project in Vietnam that promotes healthy longevity through a variety of community-driven activities and interventions.
From page 106...
... When these ties are robust, with opportunities for interaction among different subpopulations, such as intergenerational social networks, cohesion is strong, and loneliness is less likely. Intergenerational social networks differ among countries and regions, but the dominant norms emphasize the importance of intergenerational connections and the protection they can provide against social isolation and loneliness.
From page 107...
... . A systematic review of intergenerational programs examining benefits for children and older adults found improvements in attitude, behavior, confidence, and competence for the children, along with "significant differences in mental and physical health and quality of life for the older adults" (Giraudeau and Bailly, 2019, p.
From page 108...
... A recent study found that multigenerational living is on the rise in the United States: one in four Americans now live in a household with three or more generations, representing a four-fold increase in multigenerational households in the past decade (Generations United, 2021)
From page 109...
... More information found in Appendix C Levers for Empowering Change Lack of social inclusion can impede healthy longevity.
From page 110...
... report advocates for ensuring that communities tap the abilities of older people and foster intergenerational cohesion, calling for the inclusion of older adult voices and stimulation of intergenerational dialogue. Related to fostering social inclusion, the WHO report suggests the following metric to gauge progress: • Indicator 5.4.1: Proportion of time spent in unpaid domestic and care work, by sex, age and location, as a basis for provision of public services, infra structure, and social protection policies.
From page 111...
... The development of intergenerational programs has been increasing around the world to build social cohesion and bring benefits to multiple age groups, but how best to design such programs for successful implementation and optimized effects remains unclear. More monitoring and evaluation of these programs, especially to understand the return on investment, can provide important insights for communities looking to enhance their social inclusion and reduce loneliness among their residents.
From page 112...
... Adjusting the retirement age is politically contentious in most high-income countries, but failure to do so can result in financial crisis, delayed disbursement, and reduced social pensions, affecting the most vulnerable older people who depend on social security for a living. Globally, this challenge can be an opportunity for those nations with less well-developed systems to design a better system from the ground up and learn from past lessons of other countries that will need to redesign their financial security infrastructure to be a more appropriate fit for the future.
From page 113...
... Conversely, implementing these policies in countries with entrenched social security systems based on contributions from the formal workforce is politically very challenging. In emerging economies where most of the labor force operates informally, creating a new social protection system for all is more feasible.
From page 114...
... . While this program is focused on families and young children, the long-term effects of providing these levels of security for younger adults will be influential in their aging trajectory, improving their chances of healthy longevity.
From page 115...
... In 2013, Mexico changed its eligibility threshold of the Social Pension Program for the Elderly from age 70 to age 65. Researchers evaluating the program found that the program's expansion "not only reduced the probability of older adults being extremely poor, but also narrowed the extreme poverty gap and reduced the extreme poverty severity indexes of the older population." They found neither short-term impacts on the labor force participation among older people nor that it reduced labor income.


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