Healthy Aging
One-quarter of all Americans will be over 65 within the next three decades, and many will be living full, active lives.
“We have to completely rethink what aging is,” said Joseph Kvedar, vice president of the Center for Connected Health at Partners HealthCare.
Kvedar opened a one-day Harvard Catalyst panel discussion, as part of a Medical Device Development course on enabling healthy aging with advanced technologies which took place on June 6 in the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine.
The concept of aging is shifting from a time of increasing loneliness and decline to a more active phase of life, where people explore new things, continue to build relationships, volunteer their time and contribute to society, speakers said.
Technology can play an important role in helping people stay healthier longer, said Kvedar, who is also HMS professor of dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital and author of The New Mobile Age: How Technology Will Extend the Healthspan and Optimize the Lifespan.
Technology can enhance what he believes are the three biggest predictors of longevity: having a sense of purpose, maintaining social connections and engaging in physical activity. But people over 65 tend to need more health care, Kvedar added. Even if the number of medical and nursing school graduates are doubled, the number of health care providers will be insufficient in the years ahead…
Aging in Place
THE CONTEXT OF AGING – EVERYBODY’S DOING IT, MOSTLY AT HOME
Eighty percent of older adults today live in their own homes – with 34% of aged 65+ women and 20% of aged 65+ men living alone. Not surprisingly, the majority of them would like to or may be forced by finances to stay there – and if they move, according to Home Advisor research, it will be to another private home. Baby boomers began turning 73 in January 2019 – for those who live in cities, after age 80 they want to live in their own home or nearby. However, as the calculators of net worth by age indicates, unless a home is sold, there will not be enough money to pay for seniors’ potential health costs when they are in their 80’s or 90’s…