Situation Analysis Report of Training and Education in South East Asian Countries in Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine

Abstract

A population is classified as ageing when older people become proportionately larger share of the total population. Decreasing fertility rates over the last few decades and increasing survival have led to population ageing. A recent report by the United Nations Population Fund released recently indicates that 80% of the world’s older people will be living in the developing world by 2050 and those over 60 will outnumber the under-15 age group by that year.(2) In this background, geriatric medicine and gerontology must be brought into the focus of medical education. This is a trend accepted globally, and geriatricians are the single most numerous internal medicine specialists.(3) However, the change remains limited in developing countries, especially in the South-East Asian Region. The total dependency ratios of the developed and developing nations are comparable. Still, the elderly dependency ratio in the developed countries (>20) is much higher than that of the South-East Asian population (<10). Geriatrics is a specialty that provides expanded expertise in the ageing process, the impact of ageing on illness, drug therapy, health maintenance and rehabilitation.(3) The model of care focuses on working closely with other disciplines including nurses, pharmacists, therapists and social workers.