Joost Degenaar
Hanze University, Netherlands
Title: The role and competences of health professionals in a new healthy ageing approach
Biography
Biography: Joost Degenaar
Abstract
Demographic Change and Health is an important theme all over the world. It is one of the grand societal challenges of the European Union: we have an fast ageing population, people live longer but with more chronic diseases, and the cost of health and social care increase. Solutions are to be found in a combination of prevention, innovation, technology and entrepreneurship.
Active and healthy ageing gives a fruitful approach to solve the challenges of demographic change and health. In the Netherlands, Healthy Ageing not only focusses about older people with diseases: we have a life cycle approach, from growing up healthy to growing old. The focus is on functioning and health and participation. We use a new definition of health as the ability to adapt and selfmanage in the face of social, physical and emotional challenges. Nurses play an important role in this approach.
In the international ELLAN project, a European Core Competence Framework is developed for health and care professionals working with older people.In this framework, assessment performance indicators are specified for each CanMed role. In October 2018 a new book is published, in which from the background of healthy ageing and demographic change, these competences are described .
The roles of (geriatric) nursing in this Healthy Ageing approach:
- Strengthen selfmanagement and resilience of patients
- Contribute to prevention and health literacy of citizens
- Focus on functioning and the ability to adapt and selfmanage
- Use interdisciplinary innovative methods in health improvement like health technology.