Abstract - Active Aging in Asia Pacific

The number and proportions of older adults are increasing in most societies. This requires us to adjust our thinking and social structures related to aging. Many countries are adapting the concept of Active Aging, an idea first promoted by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2002.

Active aging societies understand that elders can and must continue to contribute. To become an Active Aging society, individuals and families must prepare for old age and adopt positive practices for long life. At the same time, social policy must encourage and support people to make healthy choices and stay engaged.

In this presentation, I will make three recommendations to advance Active Aging, sharing examples from across the Asia Pacific region.

1. Support Healthy Aging – These initiatives optimize access to healthy foods and physical activity. They also support programs to postpone the declines associated with normal aging.
2. Build Age-Friendly Communities – This WHO initiative calls on local governments to increase the accessibility and supportiveness of the physical environment, as well as participation of all ages in community life and decision making.
3. Promote Life-Long Learning – These initiatives assure that people of all ages, not only youth, have access to education, culture, and the arts. Also supported is intergenerational exchange, to promote learning across generations.

Working in our own countries and across the region, we must help prepare for an ever-aging society. Associations like the Active Aging Consortium Asia Pacific (ACAP) can help us exchange ideas on active aging. Together, we must work to assure that older adults are READY, ABLE, and ALLOWED to continue contributing their resources to families, communities, and society.

About the Speaker - Prof Kathryn Braun

Dr. Kathryn L. Braun is Professor of Public Health and Social Work at the University of Hawai'i, and chair of the Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) program. She also serves as Co-Principal Investigator of 'Imi Hale—Native Hawaiian Cancer Network, Co-Investigator of Hā Kūpuna National Resource Center for Native Hawaiian Elders, and Lead Evaluator for the Hawai'i Healthy Aging Partnership. Dr. Braun is known for her work in community-based participatory research in cancer and gerontology, and she has published more than 160 peer-reviewed journal articles on these topics. She is a past winner of a Board of Regent's Medal for Excellence in Teaching from the University of Hawai'i. She is a fellow in the Gerontological Society of America and the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education. She is current President of the Active Aging Consortium Asia-Pacific.