Demography Seminar: Jané Joubert (19/09/2008)
The next demography seminar, titled "Population ageing and
health-related challenges in South Africa" will be presented by Jané
Joubert (Scientist, Burden of Disease Research Unit, Medical Research
Council) on Friday 19 September at 12.45 for 1pm - 2pm in LC2A (Leslie
Commerce Building)
All welcome. Please distribute to any colleagues who may be interested.
An abstract of the seminar is given below:
The presentation aims to highlight selected information related to global
and local population ageing, the health of older South Africans (>60 years),
and responses to and challenges of population ageing in South Africa.
The world is facing unprecedented magnitudes of population ageing, and
so is South Africa. The South African population has entered an era with
little growth in the total population, but steep increases in the number of
older persons, and it is expected to continue ageing over the next two
decades despite the impact of HIV/AIDS. Population ageing is associated with
changes in the health and disease patterns within a population as
epidemiological change ensues with a change from the predominance of
infectious, parasitic, maternal and nutritional conditions to the growing
weight of non-communicable and degenerative disease. Although HIV/AIDS has
added a facet to epidemiological transition-thinking in South Africa, burden
of disease research points to a well-established presence of
non-communicable disease in South Africa. As an individual age, frailty,
chronic disease and disability are likely to rise while physical, mental and
cognitive capacities decline. The shifting weights of the child,
working-age, and older-age components of the population mean having more
older persons than before, which in turn imply increases in the prevalence
of chronic disease, disability and frailty. Increased numbers of older
persons and increased levels of chronic ill-health, frailty and disability
are expected at a time when geriatric care at public facilities have been
reported to deteriorate; when the South African health services at primary
care level are still based on an acute care model; when a mere 13% of
persons 60+ have access to a medical aid fund; and when escalating costs
render private care out of reach of the majority of the country’s older
persons. These are happening in tandem with de-institutionalization of
frail, mental and disabled care services, while neither formal nor informal
home care programmes are sufficiently in place to absorb the demand created
by de-institutionalization.
- Full Seminar Notice - Click
here
(.DOC)
(92.5 KB) (11/09/2008)
For more information you can contact:
ZERINA MATTHEWS
CENTRE FOR ACTUARIAL RESEARCH
ROOM 333.1
PD HAHN BUILDING
UPPER CAMPUS
TEL: 021 650 5475
FAX: 021 650 5937
Posted 11/09/2008 by
Zerina Matthews
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