The full realization of the Plan of Action depends on the implementation of all international documents, strategies and plans, mentioned in paragraphs 4 and 5. In promoting policies and programmes within the framework of the Plan of Action, the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs, the United Nations Fund for Population Activities, the United Nations Development Programme, the Department of Technical Cooperation for Development and the regional commissions as well as the specialized agencies, institutions and other intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations are urged to give maximum assistance to all countries at their request. Full use should also be made of opportunities existing for technical cooperation between developed and developing countries in the field of ageing.
Data collection and analysis
Data concerning the older sector of the population -- collected through censuses, surveys or vital statistics systems -- are essential for the formulation, application and evaluation of policies and programmes for the elderly and for ensuring their integration in the development process.
Governments and organizations that are in a position to do so should develop an information base which would be more specific than the 'sixty-and-over' one now in use and which would be of help in planning the development of and solving problems concerning the elderly. The base could cover social, age, functional and economic classifications, among others.
Household sample and other surveys and other sources of demographic and related socio-economic statistics provide important data for use in formulating and implementing policies and programmes for the elderly.
All countries that so request should be provided with the technical assistance needed to develop or improve databases relating to their elderly and the services and institutions that concern them. The assistance should cover training and research in methodologies for collecting, processing and analysing data.
Recommendation 52
- Data concerning the ageing could be developed along the line of a codification system which will give national Governments information tabulated by sex, age, income levels, living arrangements, health status and degree of self care, among others. Such data could be collected through the census, micro or pilot census or representative surveys. Governments are urged to allocate resources for that purpose.
Recommendation 53
- Governments and institutions concerned should establish or improve existing information exchange facilities, such as databanks in the field of ageing.
Training and education
The dramatic increase in the number and proportion of older adults calls for a significant increase in training. A dual approach is needed: an international programme for training concomitant with national and regional training programmes that are particularly relevant to conditions in the countries and regions concerned. The needs of the elderly, as well as the implications of the ageing of the population for development, need to be taken into account in developing education and training policies and programmes for all ages, especially the younger generation.
Recommendation 54
- Education and training programmes should be interdisciplinary in nature, as ageing and the ageing of the population is a multidisciplinary issue. Education and training in the various aspects of ageing and the ageing of the population should not be restricted to high levels of specialization, but should be made available at all levels. Efforts should be made to regulate the training skills and educational requirements for different functions in the field of ageing.
The exchange of skills, knowledge and experience among countries with similar or comparable structures and composition, or having historical, cultural, linguistic or other links, with respect to their ageing population would be a particularly fertile form of international cooperation. Besides the transfer of specific skills and technologies, the exchange of experience regarding the wide array of practices relating to ageing could also constitute an area for technical cooperation among developing countries. In regions which include both developed and developing countries side by side, the rich opportunities for mutual learning and cooperation in training and research should be vigorously explored.
Recommendation 55
- Intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations should take the necessary measures to develop trained personnel in the field of ageing, and should strengthen their efforts to disseminate information on ageing, and particularly to the ageing themselves.
Recommendation 56
- Retirees' and elderly people's organizations should be involved in planning and carrying out such exchanges of information.
Recommendation 57
- The implementation of several recommendations will require trained personnel in the field of ageing. Practical training centres should be promoted and encouraged, where appropriate facilities already exist, to train such personnel, especially from developing countries, who would in their turn train others. These centres would also provide updating and refresher courses and act as a practical bridge between and among developed and developing regions; they would be linked with appropriate United Nations agencies and facilities.
Recommendation 58
- At national, regional and international levels, extra attention should be given to research and study undertaken in support of integrating the problems of ageing in planning and policy formulation and management.
Recommendation 59
- Training in all aspects of gerontology and geriatrics should be encouraged and given due prominence at all levels in all educational programmes. Governments and competent authorities are called upon to encourage new or existing institutions to pay special attention to appropriate training in gerontology and geriatrics.
Research
The Plan of Action gives high priority to research related to developmental and humanitarian aspects of ageing. Research activities are instrumental in formulating, evaluating and implementing policies and programmes: (a) as to the implications of the ageing of the population for development and (b) as to the needs of the ageing. Research into the social, economic and health aspects of ageing should be encouraged to achieve efficient uses of resources, improvement in social and health measures, including the prevention of functional decline, age-related disabilities, illness and poverty, and coordination of the services involved in the care of the ageing.
The knowledge obtained by research provides scientific backing for a sounder basis for effective societal planning as well as for improving the well-being of the elderly. Further research is required, e.g. (a) to narrow the wide gaps in knowledge about ageing and about the particular needs of the ageing, and (b) to enable resources provided for the ageing to be used more effectively. There should be emphasis on the continuum of research from the discovery of new knowledge to its vigorous and more rapid application and transfer of technological knowledge with due consideration of cultural and social diversity.
Recommendation 60
- Research should be conducted into the developmental and humanitarian aspects of ageing at local, national, regional and global levels. Research should be encouraged particularly in the biological, mental and social fields. Issues of basic and applied research of universal interest to all societies include:
- The role of genetic and environmental factors;
- The impact of biological, medical, cultural, societal and behavioural factors on ageing;
- The influence of economic and demographic factors (including migration) on societal planning;
- The use of skills, expertise, knowledge and cultural potential of the ageing;
- The postponement of negative functional consequences of ageing;
- Health and social services for the ageing as well as studies of co-ordinated programmes;
- Training and education.
- Such research should be generally planned and carried out by researchers closely acquainted with national and regional conditions, being granted the independence necessary for innovation and diffusion. States, intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations should carry out more research and studies on the developmental and humanitarian aspects of ageing, cooperate in this field and exchange their findings in order to provide a logical basis for policies related to ageing in general.
Recommendation 61
- States, intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations should encourage the establishment of institutions specializing in the teaching of gerontology, geriatrics and geriatric psychology in countries where such institutions do not exist.
Recommendation 62
- International exchange and research cooperation as well as data collection should be promoted in all fields having a bearing on ageing, in order to provide a rational basis for future social policies and action. Special emphasis should be placed on comparative and cross-cultural studies on ageing. Interdisciplinary approaches should be stressed.
^Return to top
