Current challenges of ageing and ageism with a focus on healthcare and long-term care

Abstract

The world population is ageing, and the pace at which this is happening is accelerating. Statistics from the United Nations (UN) predict that between 2015 and 2030, the number of people aged 60 years or over is projected to grow by 56 per cent, to 1.4 billion, and by 2050, the global population of older persons is projected to more than double that registered in 2015, reaching nearly 2.1 billion [1]. The fact that society at large has been alerted by these projections for quite some time, mainly because of their impact on financial and economic sustainability, we do expect a more tolerant society toward older people. Nevertheless, there is evidence that ageism – a multifaceted and often undesirable social construction of old age, is widespread across countries and pervasive across sectors.