INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON AGEING AND HEALTH

 

• Aims

  Identify the needs and rights of older people in the context of health and societal influences.

Establish a positive attitude of future health professionals towards the role and position of older people in the society.

Raise awareness among medical students about the scope of challenges due to population ageing in developed and developing countries.

Teach medical students about the multidisciplinary approach towards disease and health problems of older persons.

Increase professional responsibility and knowledge towards this age group.

Create a network of student leaders involved in ageing related activities.

Identify and document what participants perceive to be deficiencies in their medical training and mobilise medical students to advocate for as well as design materials to include ageing and health related issues into the medical curricula.

 

• Objectives

Introduce the participants to the principles of  rights of the older persons and the means of preserving and restoring them.

Ensure that the participants have gained adequate information about key health interventions that effectively contribute to the decrease ageing mortality and morbidity levels.

Teach participants basics in one to one counselling and group counselling and provide them the opportunity to practice and define the best counselling techniques for addressing ageing health issues in at least 4 different settings (related to gender, culture, socio-economic status etc.).

Train the participants - future doctors - to advocate for improvements in ageing policy (participants will draw up a strategic plan of action to be followed while advocating for a cause in their respective countries, and will have an opportunity to practice advocacy skills by having to advocate for a cause in at least one scenario).

Identify key institutions and groups working in the field of  ageing and develop a network where medical students play well defined roles both as today’s youth and tomorrow’s doctors.

Discuss and document the main cultural factors influencing ageing mortality and morbidity in the countries of the participants and learn skills to address these factors.

Highlight the essential elements to be included in a medical curriculum to reduce ageing mortality and morbidity (develop at least 1 country-specific strategy to fulfil this objective).

Define IFMSA positions and propose resolutions related to older people rights to be used for advocating purposes. To develop a plan of action to implement outcomes of the workshop on the grassroots level through national training of medical students, consultations, advocacy campaigns, networking and projects.