PNAS: Measuring How Countries Adapt to Societal Aging

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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAC) has released an opinion paper by Dr. Dana Goldman and colleagues, "Measuring How Countries Adapt to Societal Aging."

The paper discusses The John A. Hartford Aging Society Index, which measures societal adaptation to aging across countries, being an important first step in understanding the impact of social institutions on the health and well-being of older persons. The authors describe the domains used in the Index to rank countries according to their level of adaptation for successful aging.

Findings suggested mixed results for aging in the United States with the elderly engaged and active but experiencing high levels of insecurity; lessons learned and policy measures that can improve the country’s age-readiness are discussed.

The John A. Hartford Foundation supported Dr. John Rowe and colleagues from Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and the University of Southern California's Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics to develop The John A. Hartford Aging Society Index.

To read the paper, click here.