Source: People's Daily
A nurse in Mallorca, Spain, visits elderly people in a nearby community to vaccinate against COVID-19. Image China
The city of Sinop, Brazil, offers health talks for the elderly. Profile picture
Caregivers at an elderly care facility in Bordeaux, France, conduct a simulation experience for the elderly to better understand the living needs and difficulties of the elderly. Image China
In Chiba Prefecture, Japan, older athletes are preparing for triathlon competitions. Image China
A deck at the Trocadéro Senior Apartments in Paris, France. Photo by reporter Liu Lingling
Support the industrialization of the elderly, build an age-friendly city, innovate the community home care model, and encourage the elderly to continue to shine... In the face of the challenge of population aging, countries have proceeded from the actual situation, provided policy support, increased investment, and strived to meet the multifaceted needs of the elderly and let the elderly enjoy a happy old age
Brazil --
Build an age-friendly city
Reporter Li Xiaoxiao
Elizabeth Trune, 65, retired from a large city in Brazil and moved to santos, a coastal city in the state of São Paulo. In Brazil, there are quite a few "silver-haired immigrants" like her. According to a recent report released by the Brazilian Longevity Institute, the state of São Paulo is home to the most elderly cities in Brazil, with the city of Santos at the top of the list. The report assessed 876 brazilian cities by reference to 50 indicators, including health care, social welfare, social security, and government finances.
The city of Santos has 433,600 inhabitants, of whom more than 20% are over the age of 60. The city not only has a mild climate and is suitable for the elderly, but a number of care measures introduced by the government are also an important reason for attracting silver-haired people to retire here. "I feel very comfortable and convenient here, and the government and the community have helped us a lot." Drunay said she goes to the community park almost every day to work out, where there are free fitness venues and professional trainers. In addition, Santos has many free exhibitions, performances and films for the elderly.
"For many years, we have been advocating the concept of 'active ageing'." Anna Bianca, policy coordinator for the elderly at the Municipal Commission for Social Development of the City of Santos, said that as early as 2016, Santos launched the "Accessible Santos" initiative to encourage commercial institutions to provide accessible services. The government has also set up "amphibious" beach chairs on the beach, which can be used by the elderly or people with reduced mobility to soak up the sun on the beach or get close to the ocean. The service is not only free, but also accompanied by government staff, making it safer and more convenient for the elderly to get close to nature. "These are just some of Santos' efforts to build age-friendly cities." Bianca said the city has also opened courses in finance, photography, art therapy and other courses for the elderly, so that the elderly can learn and have fun.
During the prevention and control of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, Santos city held an online education activity to guide the elderly on how to maintain health and health, how to eliminate the psychological emotions caused by the epidemic, and also promoted respect for the elderly education to the whole city to reduce the possibility of violence against the elderly. "We provide physical and psychological knowledge to older people in the hope that they will have more autonomy. Our goal is to make the lives of the elderly more brilliant. Bianca said.
In 2020, Brazil's population over the age of 60 will reach 29.9 million, and the deepening aging of the population will pose great challenges to Brazil. "People, especially young people, must recognize the current situation of aging, which is an important part of building age-friendly cities." Bianca believes that education is an important means of ensuring the quality of life of the elderly. Targeted education for the elderly can add color and improve the quality of their lives, and "aging" education for young people can help eliminate generational barriers and promote harmony between families and society.
In 2019, the City of Santos and the city's public schools launched the Longevity Education Network pilot project to educate students on how to get along with older adults and cross generational barriers, and this year the project is reaching more schools. The government will also develop a digital platform to allow more families to participate in longevity education. "Education in santos is a model for serving the elderly population." Enrique Noah, executive director of the Longevity Research Institute, said that the government must take demographic changes seriously, and whether it can make good use of all resources to create a happy life for the elderly not only reflects the government's ability to govern, but also reflects the overall tolerance of society. "If a city is prepared to provide a high quality of life for the elderly population, it is also suitable for people of all ages to live here."
Singapore --
Encourage qualified elderly people to return to the workplace
Reporter Liu Hui
Singapore's Mr. Wu, 64, has reached the statutory retirement age, and instead of returning home to enjoy his old age, he continues to work in his former factory. Now he works 4 days a week and earns more than S$1,000 a month (S$1 is about 4.8 rmb) and can enjoy the benefits of company shuttle bus transfers and brunch. Mr. Wu's children are worried that their father is too hard and want him to go home to rest, but Mr. Wu is satisfied with the current state of life: "In the factory, you can chat with colleagues and do things together. Life is richer, mood is happier, and health is better. ”
Mr. Wu's case is not unique. As life expectancy increases and health and education continue to rise, many Singaporeans who have reached retirement age want to remain active in the world of work. The Singapore government has introduced a variety of measures to encourage qualified elderly people to return to work, so as to exert residual heat for society while alleviating the labor force reduction caused by the aging of the population.
In recent years, Singapore's population has accelerated. As of June this year, the proportion of people aged 65 and over in the total population was 17.6%, and it is expected to reach about 1/4 by 2030. Singapore began implementing the Retirement and Re-employment Act in 2012 to provide legal protection for the re-employment of the elderly. The Decree has been amended several times since its introduction, and currently stipulates that employers must provide opportunities for eligible employees who have reached the statutory retirement age of 62 to re-employ, with a maximum age of 67 years. If an employer is unable to provide a suitable job, it will need to pay an employment assistance of S$5,500 to S$13,000. Enterprises that voluntarily employ employees aged 65 and over can also receive special employment subsidies from the government. The Government also provides training for older persons to upgrade their skills and adapt to the needs of social development.
Hu Cailin, marketing and public relations manager at Mr. Wu's factory, said: "Hiring retired employees is a win-win situation for the company and employees, not only allowing the company to fill the employment gap, but also allowing retired employees to have life goals and help them stay healthy and active. According to her, the company uses government subsidies to purchase new equipment and use new technologies to make the work of the elderly more labor-saving and safer. Liu Youfa, a 65-year-old civil servant, also chose to continue working, saying: "I like to share knowledge with other people, which is also a way to realize my self-worth." He volunteered to participate in the unit's drone working group, and together with his colleagues, provided training for more than 100 people.
In addition to providing job opportunities for seniors who are able and willing to work, Singapore also provides security for people's retirement through the Central Provident Fund system. The Central Provident Fund (CPF) system is a mandatory savings scheme that, after years of improvement, has now covered the needs of Singaporeans in terms of pension, housing, medical care, education and other aspects, becoming a comprehensive social security system. Under this system, when the head of the CPF account reaches the age of 55, a retirement account is automatically established, and the balance of which is converted into retirement deposits. The Government regularly publishes minimum retirement savings based on inflation and average standard of living. For example, the basic savings of a 55-year-old head in 2021 is S$93,000, which is not enough to be made up, and by the age of 65, the head of the household will receive a monthly pension of S$770 to S$830. The more retirement savings, the higher the monthly pension. As of December 2020, Singapore's Central Provident Fund (CPF) system has benefited 4.1 million people, providing basic security for people's retirement.
France -
Promote the development of the pension service industry
Reporter Liu Lingling
In the Trocadero Senior Apartment in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France, a lecture on French comedy films has just ended. By watching classic film clips and reviewing the moving soundtrack, the elderly spent a pleasant and fulfilling afternoon. Trocadero Elderly Apartments is one of the projects built in Paris by the Largest European Pension Rehabilitation Group, the French Opaltin Group. In recent years, France has taken a series of measures to actively promote the development of the pension service industry and further improve the quality of pension services.
Trocadero Senior Apartment has a clean environment and a wide view, whether it is the overall design of the apartment or the internal aging facilities, it fully takes into account the convenience and comfort of the elderly's life. Services and facilities such as eating, bathing, laundry, recreation and health care are provided, with professional medical staff, and regular lectures, exhibitions and various social activities are held to meet the spiritual needs of the elderly.
In 2005, the French government incorporated the family service industry, including the old-age service industry, into the national strategic development plan, and in 2007 adopted two national pension plans, "Spending The Rest of the Old Age 2007-2009" and "Mutual Aid for the Elderly 2007-2012", the core contents of which include accelerating the construction of pension institutions and encouraging social capital to enter the pension industry. According to the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Research, there are more than 10,000 nursing homes for the disabled elderly, apartments for the elderly, etc. in France, and more than 700,000 beds. Of these, public institutions accounted for 40%, private non-profit organizations accounted for 29%, and private for-profit organizations accounted for 31%. In 2019, the French elderly care service industry reached a turnover of 18 billion euros and employed more than 1 million people. The elderly who enter the pension institutions can receive corresponding government subsidies, which further promotes the development of the French pension institutions.
With the support of policies, France has developed many successful pension service enterprises in recent years, such as the OuBaoting Group, which builds apartments for the elderly and medical care institutions, and the Oubeiyi Group, which provides door-to-door services and home care for the elderly and disabled people. With the wave of digitalization and intelligent development, start-ups in elderly services continue to emerge, and innovative products with functions such as wrestling prevention, residential automation, elderly positioning, vital signs monitoring, and elderly apartment monitoring have attracted industry attention. For example, a French technology company called "Ubiquid" has launched a clothes with chips to locate the elderly and prevent them from getting lost. In addition, the French pension industry also focuses on the treatment of chronic diseases, family and community pensions, medical cross-border cooperation and other fields to achieve industry segmentation and create advantageous enterprises.
According to statistics, as of the beginning of 2020, the proportion of the population over the age of 65 in France is 20.5%, and by 2030, the population of France over the age of 60 will reach 20 million. Jérôme Arno, head of the French Silver Economic Innovation Research Network "Silver Valley", pointed out that the development of the French pension industry is promoted by the government and guided by policies, the participation of social capital is increasing, and the trend of industrial integration is strengthening, and the dividends of these measures are gradually emerging, which also provides experience for other aging countries. "With the acceleration of the aging process, the market demand for the French pension industry will be more diversified, and home automation goods, personalized services, and autonomous technologies will achieve strong development in the next few years." The new pension model of "Internet + Pension" will also create more economic value and jobs in the process of exploration. Arnold said.
Spain -
Innovate the community pension service model
Reporter Jiang Bo
Spain is one of the most aging countries in the world, according to the latest statistics, the proportion of the population over 65 years old in Spain is 19.77% of the total population. There are nearly 400,000 beds in nursing homes across the country, accounting for only 4% of the population over the age of 65, and residents have a long waiting time for applying for admission, and the problem of old-age care has become a serious challenge. In order to solve this problem, Spain has vigorously developed various forms of pension models such as home care, home care, and day care centers to alleviate the resource shortage of nursing homes. The Spanish government proposed in April this year that it will allocate about 730 million euros of recovery funds to promote the transformation and innovation of pension methods in various regions.
In the Autonomous Region of Castile and León in Spain, a new model of community care is being implemented in several of its provinces. The autonomous region's province of Zamora is one of the most aging regions in Spain, with more than 30% of the population over the age of 65. To this end, the local government plans to promote the "home care" and "pension network" projects in 39 municipalities in the province of Zamora, and plans to invest 9 million euros in the next three and a half years to hire professional caregivers to provide door-to-door services for the elderly with nursing needs. Caregivers will assess the physical condition, nursing needs, degree of risk and living environment of these elderly people, and formulate home care service programs. The project also proposes to carry out barrier-free renovation of some local houses and build 40 housing units, of which 30 are for the elderly who have no houses or do not meet the living conditions at home, and 10 are for caregivers.
The project also plans to work with local NGOs, private service providers, etc. to share a network of services. For example, in addition to home care services, the elderly can also enjoy services such as laundry, haircuts and canteens in surrounding nursing homes or day-care centers. Fernandez Manico, President of the Castile-León Autonomous Community, said the model could provide more old-age options for the elderly and allow them to spend their old age in a familiar environment. At the same time, the project will create nearly 100 jobs in the province of Zamora, helping to improve the loss of the local youth population. In the future, after such models are promoted in other regions, it is also expected to improve the demographic structure of various places.
Technological progress has also helped to make home care more convenient and safe. In a nursing home in the province of Soria in the autonomous region of Castile and León, a care robot called "Kubit" recently joined the staff. "Kubit" is connected to the remote assistance system, which can monitor and track the health status of the elderly, not only remind them to take medicine on time, issue an alarm in the event of an emergency, but also guide the elderly to carry out simple exercises and help them contact their families. If the use of the care robot is good, it will be promoted to other pension places in the future. At a nursing home in Barcelona, virtual reality devices help the elderly understand the real-time dynamics of their families, while wearable devices are used to monitor sleep conditions and hazard warnings. Spain's "El País" commented that with the popularization of smart homes, remote assistance and telemedicine and other technical means, there will be more innovative attempts in the future of pension methods, and community pension models such as home care will occupy a greater share.
Typography: Cai Huawei
People's Daily (November 17, 2021, 17th Edition)