Ageing Population Research Benefits – Quality of Life & Management of Living Resources – Gender

 

 

 

 

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Research Benefits for the
Ageing Population

Organised by
STAKES and the European Commission under the Finnish EU
Presidency

Major outcomes and documentation from
the dissemination Conference for European Research Results

September 2006, Helsinki

Research related to the
quality of life of older people is a multi-dimensional issue. Politics,
economics, culture, family structure, demographics, healthcare practices,
nursing skills and a wide range of therapeutic and technical measures shape and
influence the present situation of older people in Europe.

The future
provisions for older people in EU Member States and the outcomes for older
people must be informed by today’s and tomorrow’s research, conducted by
multi-disciplinary and multi-national teams.
At this conference, hosted by
the Finnish National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health
(STAKES) during the Finnish Presidency of the European Union, September 2006,
experts in the field of ageing research presented the results of key research
and development projects on the quality of life of older people.
The projects
addressed some of the most pressing social issues in Europe today, and have
produced findings in many significant areas, including health and social care,
technological aids, prevention and treatment of age-related diseases, as well as
active ageing and mobility.

The participants included Members the
Economic and Social Committee, representatives of different Commission services,
European and National Non-Governmental Organisations, UN, national policy makers
and others who are interested expressed interest in taking up the results.

This dissemination conference has provided an exposition of the
problem-solving approach of the research Key Action 6 “The Ageing Population and
their Disabilities”, bringing research results to a well-informed and critical
audience. It is with great pleasure that we offer these results to the research
community and the many stakeholders who, we hope, may benefit from this work.

This webpage contains all the presentations (in .pdf format) made at the
conference, as well as some aditional information links.
The presentations
can be dowloaded by clicking with the mouse (or using mac’s relevant button) and
save file as…

DAY 1

Plenary

Welcome
Finnish Minister of
Social Affairs and Health, Tuula Haatainen
European Commission, Director Health
Research, Octavi Quintana Trias
Introduction, Vappu
Taipale, STAKES
Follow-up of the Madrid Action Plan for
Ageing, Alexandre Sidorenko, UN Programme on Ageing and Senior Social
Affairs
Quality of Life of Older People – The Contribution of
Research, Allan
Walker, University of Sheffield, UK

Parallel
sessions

• Session 1: Living Longer.
Living Better?
Chair: Marja Jylhä, University of Tampere

Rapporteur: Eija Kattainen, STAKES

Living longer. Living
better? – Introduction Ivor
Ambrose, Independent Consultant, Athens

The role of diet on
the longevity of elderly Europeans – Antonia Trichopoulou, University of Athens, presenter: Gesa
Hansen, European Commission

Sleep in ageing women – Tarja Porkka-Heiskanen, University of Helsinki, presenter:
Eija Kattainen, STAKES, Helsinki

Healthy ageing and its
determinants in 11 European countries – Daan
Kromhout University of Wageningen

•
Session 2: Older People’s Home and Mobility
Chair: Kevin
McCarthy, European Commission
Rapporteur: Päivi Voutilainen, STAKES

Genes, falls and cosmonauts: a case for the falling
Icarus? – Carlos von Bonhorst, Independent Consultant,
Brussels

Criteria for dwellings, surroundings and facilities
– Pirkko Kasanen, Work Efficiency Institute, Helsinki

Enhancing outdoor mobility in later life – Heidrun Mollenkopf, German Centre for Ageing Research,
Heidelberg

Mobility of senior citizens as a social
problem – Heinz-Jürgen Kaiser (Presentation – Text), Institute for Psycho-gerontology, Erlangen

• Session 3: Coping with Age-related
Health Problems
Chair: Heikki Kallasvaara, University of
Helsinki
Rapporteur: Merab Kokaia, Lund University

The burden
of disease in old age – Eino
Heikkinen, University of Jyväskylä

Alzheimer’s disease;
Dementia results overview – Merab
Kokaia, University of Lund

Information for and about
Parkinson’s disease and communication with patients – Heiner Ellgring, University of Würzburg

Cueing
of Parkinson patients, new technological devices to overcome “freezing”
– Alice Nieuwboer, University of Leuven

• Session 4: Technological Solutions for Enhancing Quality
of Life
Chair: Isabel Borges, AGE
Rapporteur: Peter
Gore, Cane & Able Ltd.

The challenges of applying technology
to health & social care – Peter
Gore, Cane & Able Ltd., Sheffield

Technologies for
people with dementia – Paivi
Topo, STAKES, Helsinki

The friendly restroom – Marianne Egger de Campo, COMPASS, Graz

A new
incontinence management system – Alan Cottenden, UCL – Continence Products Eval Network, London

Day 2

Plenary

How Can We Prevent Older People Falling?
Lessons from ProFaNE – Chris
Todd, University of Manchester, UK

Parallel
sessions

• Session 5: Sensory
Impairment
Chair: Eino Heikkinen, University of Jyväskylä

Rapporteur: Carlos von Bonhorst, Independent Consultant

New
approaches, new tools, solving old problems in sensory impairment – Carlos von Bonhorst, Independent Consultant, Brussels

A prosthesis for the blind – Eduardo Fernandez, University of Alicante

Therapeutic and diagnostic tools in AMD – Thomas Wheeler-Schilling, European Vision Institute

New standardized battery test for evaluating low vision and
AMD – Susanne Trauzettel-Klosinski, University Eye Hospital,
Tübingen

• Session 6: Caring for Older
Persons
Chair: Gertraud Dayé, NGO Committee on Ageing, UN

Rapporteur: Dora Groo, Hungarian Science Foundation

Caring
for older persons – Introduction –
Dora Groo, Hungarian Science and Technology Foundation,
Budapest

Care for aged at risk of marginalization – Marianne
Egger de Campo, COMPASS, Graz

Keys for quality performance of
the care of older persons – Marja
Vaarama, STAKES, Helsinki

Services for supporting family
carers – Hanneli Doehner, University Hospital, Hamburg

Plenary

European Activities and
Initiatives
Pekka
Kahri, TEKES;
Gesa Hansen, European Commission

Summary of
Key Messages from Sessions, session rapporteurs:

Session 1: Eija Kattainen
Session 2: Päivi Voutilainen
Session 3: Merab Kokaia
Session 4: Peter Gore
Session 5: Carlos von Bonhorst
Session 6: Dora
Groo

The Ageing Population – Challenges for Future
Research – Yitzhak Brick, Director General of Eshel, past president of
the International Federation on Ageing

Additional
Information

List of the websites for KA6 projects (right click or function button / save as)

Download conference proceedings booklet (available from early
2007)
Download
Mid-Term KA6 Assessment executive summary report

Download final KA6
assessment (available from early 2007)
Download KA6
list of projects
booklet