ACHIEVING 21ST CENTURY FUNCTIONAL ABILITY THROUGH MORE EFFECTIVE ELDER CAREGIVING

The 2015 World Health Organization World Report on Ageing and Health defined Healthy Ageing as “the process of developing and maintaining the functional ability that enables well-being in older age.” This new public health guideline focused on functional ability serves as a call-to-action aligned with 21st century longer lives, and it requires an innovative view of wellness and prevention, in addition to more effective treatment paradigms, as core focus areas of health. The symposium will present the public policy and business imperatives of making functional ability a priority in public health. The focus on better elder caregiving aims to reveal unique opportunities to reduce hospital visits, limit rehospitalization and address the impact of healthy aging on family and friends’ mental and physical health. The symposium will identify opportunities to improve caregiving practices that pursue a more active aging, thereby adding quality to longer lives. It will further identify key areas for further investigation and research on elder caregiving that goes beyond disease treatment, focuses on prevention and wellness, and therefore leads to more effective elder caregiving.