Revisiting role played by our Silver Age folks
To mark the International Day for Older People 2016, the Sri Lanka Association of Geriatric Medicine will hold a special programme today, October 9, at the Sri Lanka Foundation in Colombo from 8 a.m. The programme will have a series of workshops on Healthy Ageing, Nutrition, Exercises in old age, Memory Issues in old age, Elder rights and Elder abuse and one on Social Security conducted by experts in the field. There will also be an exhibition that will be declared open by Chairperson of the Sarvodya Movement, Dr. A.T Ariyaratne.
The workshops are open to all, free of charge.
“Take a stand against Ageism” was the theme announced by the World Health Organization (WHO) for the International Day for Older People which was commemorated on October 1. Ageism is discrimination an older person may face in society based on his or her age.
Ageism marginalises older people and limits their role in the community. Even though we in Sri Lanka can be proud of our ever increasing life expectancy, the quality of life our elders enjoy and acceptance by society of the vital role elders play needs to be revisited.
The world is ageing fast and we in Sri Lanka are taking the lead in the region. Our life expectancy has risen considerably over the past decade; in 2013, the life expectancy for males was 72 years and for females 78.5 years. This indicates the success story of our times – the good health care coverage, reduction in communicable diseases in a country with free health care and free education. The challenge before us is to ascertain whether we are able to add good quality years to the extended life or whether we have a morbidity-filled life with multiple ailments and disabilities. As such the concept of healthy ageing is very important.
Most of our households have one or more older people. However, caring for the older generation needs special attention and knowledge of various disabilities of old age and the simple ways to overcome them in order to promote healthy and dignified ageing for our older people. With this intention in mind the Sri Lanka Association of Geriatric Medicine is planning a series of public awareness programmes and educational activities targeted towards both the public and health care professionals in the island under a new theme “ Towards a Dignified Silver Age”.
The Sri Lanka Association of Geriatric Medicine has chosen to call older age as Silver Age which adds dignity, kindness and glamour to this age group. This is to further strengthen the WHO theme for this year, with the aim of a dignified old age as opposed to inactive or passive ageing with negative concepts. An older person is a resource to the society and not a burden, if we can plan to empower them to actively participate in community activities while health protection and disease prevention is undertaken by the health care providers.
Formed in 2014, the Sri Lanka Association of Geriatric Medicine (SLAGM) since its inception has made it a priority to educate health care professionals and the public regarding the care of the elderly. It has pioneered the holding of Geriatric symposiums at the Ceylon College of Physicians, clinical updates for young physicians, and had two annual academic sessions in 2014 and 2015.
This year the major focus is to reach out to provincial areas. The most recent regional meeting was held in Trincomalee on September 29 with the participation of members of the Trincomalee General Hospital and doctors from the Eastern province.
A one-day educational programme also included a Nurses training session for nursing officers in the area. This was attended by Dr. Duncan Forsyth, a renowned Consultant Geriatrician from Addenbrook Hospital in Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Dr. Forsyth also attended a Special Nurses Training session at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka on October 3. Another teaching session for post-graduate doctors will be held on October 12 at the Lionel Wendt Memorial hall at SLMA office premises.
( The writer is a Consultant Physician and Honorary Secretary, Sri Lanka Association of Geriatric Medicine)