The online course “Healthy Ageing: Impact in the 21st Century: Global Online Leaders training”, led by the WHO, took place on September to December 2020. This course counted with more than 500 participants from all over the World, who worked in teams guided by 18 tutors during 14 weeks. Learning materials included readings such as World Report on Ageing and Health, short videos, handouts and infographics. The interactive learning was promoted by teamwork, peer-to-peer feedback, mentorship and project-based collaboration. The course covered topics such as ageing in a changing world, societal responses to population ageing, ageism, the healthy ageing conceptual model, age-friendly environments and integrated care. Working in teams of people from different countries, participants had the opportunity to reflect on challenges and opportunities faced by ageing populations, think about possible solutions for a specific objective, and plan actions to be taken to solve these problems. In addition, the strong multicultural and collaborative environment promoted building international networks of leaders with skills and competencies to become change agents that generate and drive action for the Decade of Healthy Ageing. Several QASP researchers participated in this course, with great benefit for the project development.
Lia Araújo (Center for Health Technology and Services Research (CINTESIS), School of Education, Polytechnic Institute of Viseu, Portugal):
It was with great pleasure that in the last months, I have participated in the course Healthy Ageing for Impact in the 21st Century: Global Online Leaders Training. I have to say that the course is quite demanding but everything is so well organized and the topics and tasks are so interesting that we didn't even notice the volume of work. Having opted for the topic of Age-friendly environments, my individual and group works were oriented towards social isolation and loneliness in older people, which are being exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Together with two colleagues, we develop an action plan with a set of activities target to promote (i) social connections, (ii) cognitive simulation and learning and (iii) physical activity, strength and balance. Because of social distancing, many of them were planned to take place online, so the project included a part of digital training. My actual research experience within QASP project was a great asset, in the sense that made me more knowledgeable and sensitive to health aging and its related determinants and factors. Considering the current pandemic that we live and the consequences that will leave, I believe that QASP’s motto, of studying quality of life for people above the age of 50, looking specifically at participation and health, will be more important than ever.
Carmen Rodríguez-Blázquez (Carlos III Institute of Health, Madrid, Spain):
The aim of the course was generating a global network of leaders of Healthy Ageing that can produce a transformative action on ageing around the world. This aim translates into several modules with a high relevance of practical and applied contents. Participants are grouped into teams with a tutor leading it, guiding the progress through modules and tasks, supporting the process of learning, and promoting the communication and discussions and the engagement in the course. My team was composed by participants from different geographical contexts (Spain, Ireland, Hungary, Nigeria) and educational background. In my opinion, the heterogeneous composition of the teams is one of the strengths of the course, as it enhances the debate by allowing to have different point of views of the subjects. Another advantage of the course is the peer-review evaluation methodology. That is, all tasks are reviewed by other course participants, that must follow several guidelines and provide constructive and positive comments. In summary, I would say it is a very practical and interesting course, providing participants with an integral insight on Healthy Ageing from a multidisciplinary and global perspective. This knowledge is very helpful for the QASP study, taking into account this is a project focused in the understanding of the determinants of quality of life in older people in the Health and Active Ageing framework. We can use the lessons learned in the course to draw conclusions and recommendations for promoting Healthy Ageing in the participant countries in the study (Portugal, Spain and Sweden).
Vanessa Zorrilla-Muñoz (Institute on Gender Studies, Mechanical Engineering Department, University Carlos III, Madrid, Spain):
From my experience, the course “Healthy Ageing for Impact in the 21st Century” allows an intrinsic and extrinsic training on aspects related to ageing. Furthermore, this course provides a special emphasis on social responses, the environment and the challenges of life, among others. Participants work collaboratively in a team to define an action plan on jointly-defined idea during the course. Precisely in this sense, the course had a high impact by integrating different social and health actors in a coherent way through the international people assigned to each team. This has allowed me to gain a more global perspective on ageing. Likewise, the creation of an affordable and balanced idea concerning healthy ageing goes in line with the current sustainable development of older people. Moreover, this course has allowed me to improve my ability to propose related ideas and new products, to the ageing market segmentation from a psycho-sociosanitary view. The course allows connecting and comparing new emerging aspects focused on technology and products as well as political, economic and social aspects related to healthy ageing and older people quality of life. Finally, this course redirects your skills and abilities towards areas of different transfer themes related to quality of life and wellbeing in old age, such as gender, disabilities and dependency.
Amaia Calderón Larrañaga (Aging Research Center, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden):
The course “Healthy Ageing for Impact in the 21st Century” has provided me with a deeper understanding of the WHO’s definition of healthy ageing, i.e. the process of developing and maintaining the functional ability that enables well-being in old age. At least three interpretations derive from this definition, which I believe are particularly relevant to researchers of the QASP consortium:
1. Understanding the complexity of health in old age from the perspective of multidimensional trajectories. Most studies focusing on health changes over time have only distinguished between normal and pathological or successful ageing, based mainly on the development of specific disorders. However, during the course, we have become aware for the need to assess older people’s health in an integrated way, one that is based on longitudinal and functional perspectives.
2. Adapting healthcare systems to the real medical and social needs of older populations. Besides routine medical care, both formal and informal long-term care are essential means to ensuring that people with a significant loss of capacity can still experience healthy ageing. Moreover, provided the high prevalence of multimorbidity among the elderly, health care delivery and quality measurement should no longer be organised and designed based on patients with single diseases.
3. Considering the social environment and psychosocial factors when assessing the care needs of older adults. When older people become ill or dependent, health care is only part of the story. The ability to remain socially engaged; to continue with activities that give their life meaning; to contribute to their family or community; to maintain choice, control, and dignity; and to feel that they can still take care of themselves are some of the social and psychosocial factors that determine quality of life in older people, and as such could moderate their need for healthcare resources.
The learning process has taken place in a collaborative atmosphere of international healthy ageing advocates, under the guidance of a dedicated tutor.
People interested to join the course in the future may register through this web page: https://openwho.org/courses/HealthyAgeing4Impact-Registration .