The AAG conference was held recently in Melbourne. It brought together a vast array of people from all over Australia who work in some way with older people. They are from many professions: nurse, doctors, academics and researchers, service providers and administrators, innovators and evaluators, architects, health professionals, public servants and town planners just to name a few.
The conference was the biggest the Association has ever planned and hosted and showcased International and Australian keynote speakers. The theme of the conference was “Advancing not retiring: Active players a fair future”. The conference acknowledged that many groups with the ageing population are not well supported and opportunities for advancement are not evenly spread across the community. Older people who are poor, homeless, only speak a language other than English, are LGBTI or from Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander backgrounds are less likely to be able to advance in older age than those with more advantages.
The AAG works towards improving the experience of ageing through connecting research, policy and practice, giving older people a voice, and offering providers of care and services with the most up to date evidence for the best care and services possible.
Sessions I attended included presentations on:
- dementia,
- end of life,
- social determinants of health,
- healthy ageing,
- aged care,
- housing and the built environment,
- media influences in our we look at older people and the services they require,
- social isolation and community engagement, and
- hospital care for older people.
That’s a lot of talking and listening!
Over the next few weeks I will endeavour to write something about most of these topics, so watch this space. I look forward to your comments too.