This is the background paper to the National Symposium on Ageing Research. It provides an overview on the 2003 research environment, and discussion of some of the key structures that will support the further development of an ageing research agenda for Australia.

Elgar Research Agendas outline the future of research in a given area. Leading scholars are given the space to explore their subject in provocative ways, and map out the potential directions of travel. They are relevant but also visionary. Written by a global collective of scholars from a wide variety of backgrounds, including health studies, psychology and economics as well as social policy and gerontology, this timely Research Agenda highlights the challenges and opportunities of rising longevity and population ageing for social policy providing clear directions for future research. Divided into five comprehensive parts, this Research Agenda examines research priorities from policy perspectives, the role of social policy research in relation to intergovernmental organisations, and the framework for future-oriented social policies on ageing provided by a life-course approach. It demonstrates that social policy experts must evaluate interests and expectations both qualitatively and quantitatively, and asserts that future research on social policy and ageing will be inspired by a broad range of stakeholders, including non-governmental interest organisations and state actors. A Research Agenda for Ageing and Social Policy will be enlightening for students and researchers focusing on social policy, ageing, development, health policy and inequality. It will also be a fascinating read for practitioners seeking a wider understanding of social policy priorities and processes.

The WHO World report on ageing and health is not for the book shelf it is a living breathing testament to all older people who have fought for their voice to be heard at all levels of government across disciplines and sectors. - Mr Bjarne Hastrup President International Federation on Ageing and CEO DaneAge This report outlines a framework for action to foster Healthy Ageing built around the new concept of functional ability. This will require a transformation of health systems away from disease based curative models and towards the provision of older-person-centred and integrated care. It will require the development sometimes from nothing of comprehensive systems of long term care. It will require a coordinated response from many other sectors and multiple levels of government. And it will need to draw on better ways of measuring and monitoring the health and functioning of older populations. These actions are likely to be a sound investment in society's future. A future that gives older people the freedom to live lives that previous generations might never have imagined. The World report on ageing and health responds to these challenges by recommending equally profound changes in the way health policies for ageing populations are formulated and services are provided. As the foundation for its recommendations the report looks at what the latest evidence has to say about the ageing process noting that many common perceptions and assumptions about older people are based on outdated stereotypes. The report's recommendations are anchored in the evidence comprehensive and forward-looking yet eminently practical. Throughout examples of experiences from different countries are used to illustrate how specific problems can be addressed through innovation solutions. Topics explored range from strategies to deliver comprehensive and person-centred services to older populations to policies that enable older people to live in comfort and safety to ways to correct the problems and injustices inherent in current systems for long-term care.

Acculturating refers to the interchange of patterns of behaviour, perceptions and ideas between groups of individuals who have different cultural backgrounds. This book, which is the result of collaboration between specialists from different disciplines from around the world, allows the comparison of systems of dependency, mediation skills, empathy and social understanding and cultural attitudes towards people who experience the stages of aging.

The United Nations World Assembly on Aging has made advancing health and well-being into old age a worldwide call for action. And this text at hand shows us what researchers worldwide are doing to answer that call. Here, three of America's most esteemed experts on aging lead a global team of contributors - each an expert in his or her country - to show us what the top challenges of each nation are, and what top research is being done there to meet those. While we cannot predict with absolute certainty all of the issues that will arise over the next 20 years, we can anticipate some and we must start now to prepare for these challenges, an expert from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services warned at a recent UN World Assembly on Aging. Needed response to the global population shift is not just the responsibility of governments, but will be a product of wise, long-term decisions made by individuals and societies, she explained. In most nations globally, populations are graying and the number of people aged 65 and older is vastly increasing, creating a larger segment of senior citizens than the world has ever before seen. Across human history, the elderly accounted for no more than 3 percent of the world population. By the year 2030, the elderly are expected to make up about 25 percent of the world population. And while longevity is of course seen as a great success, longer lifespan for such masses also creates dilemmas. For example, the incidence of dementia has already increased significantly with an 11-fold increase in people aged 65 and older in the US since the turn of the century, and a similar increase in aged people in Scotland has researchers there scrambling to find treatments for what they expect will be a 75 percent increase in dementia over the next 25 years. Chronic diseases that come with aging are already taxing health care systems in the US and around the world to Japan, with most experts aware their current health systems would be overrun and lack enough staff and facilities to handle the needs of an elderly population multiplying largely in the coming two decades. Increases in psychological issues such as dealing with the depression often striking aged people are impending, too, as are social issues such as how families, and public policies, will deal with the changing shape of the family.

"This commissioned ANTA report develops a conceptual framework for understanding the education and training needs of older workers in order to inform the context of future directions for education and training policy. This framework has been developed after an extensive review of existing literature and research in this area from both Australian and international sources. This report has 3 main purposes: To better understand the issues surrounding older workers and their participation in vocational education and training. To inform the development of ANTA policy relating to older workers. To identify future research directions that would be of greatest benefit to the ongoing needs of policy makers, VET practitioners and, ultimately, the Australian community"--Introduction.

This book explores the implications and significant ethical, social, economic and health challenges that an ageing world population presents. It provides valuable insights on concerns related to providing, organizing, planning and managing care for older persons in both formal and informal settings. As the number of older persons increases rapidly around the globe, caring for them is a very important aspect of all ageing and aged societies. While in most countries the care of older persons is provided informally by family members, the changing social scene, family structures and work and employment patterns are leading many nations to create provisions for formal care through institutions or paid services of caregivers. This book offers perspectives on formal and informal care from countries such as Japan, the Netherlands, the USA, India, South Africa and Poland, among others. The essays in this book underline a rights-based approach and focus on ethical, social, economic, health and legal aspects of care as they pertain to the universal phenomena of ageing as well as the specific demographic and epidemiological realities of the selected countries. They discuss concerns such as long-term care provisions, catering to the needs of people affected by dementia, providing residential care, taking the needs of family care providers into account, the growing requirement for paid care workers and channelizing training of both skilled and semi-skilled care providers to suit the needs of older people. This volume would be of interest to scholars and those working in the fields of sociology, health studies, age and ageing, psychology, social work, medical sciences, nursing and public policy. It will also be useful to NGO sector workers, administrators, as well as grassroots workers involved with the care of older persons.