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WONCA SIG IN AGEING AND HEALTH
WONCA WP & SIGS NEWS
LAUNCH OF ICOPE IMPLEMENTATION PILOT PROGRAMME The Special Interest Group in Ageing and Health has contributed to the development of the World Health Organisation Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE) approach over the last few years. The SIG recognises that it is important to optimise the health of older people, and that an important part of that is to support the person’s ability to function while recognising that there will be some inevitable decline in health and functional ability with age. This shift towards optimising function is sometimes a difficult one for family doctors, who may have been educated that only cure, or at best, optimal physical health management is worthwhile. Often it is necessary to work with other primary care practitioners and social care providers to achieve the best possible functional ability for older people. Such a shift can only be possible if the person’s own preferences and unique abilities are taken into account. The World Health Organisation has developed a series of helpful resources for family doctors and for countries that are looking to expand the vision of healthy ageing to include optimising function. This includes for example a guidance booklet which incorporates pathways of care (Integrated care for older people (ICOPE): Guidance for person-centred assessment and pathways in primary care. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2019 (WHO/FWC/ALC/19.1). Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO).
The findings can support governments, health and care workers and other service providers to implement ICOPE as part of efforts towards universal health coverage. The online launch of ‘ICOPE implementation pilot programme: findings from the ‘ready’ phase,’ a new WHO report on the integrated care for older people (ICOPE) approach. Date and time: Monday 25 April, 13.00-14.30 CEST via zoom. Registration is required for the event at https://bit.ly/3NOj95b Interpretation will be available in French. A recording of the event will be made available.
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The Implementation Pilot Program report will be launched on April 25th The new report summarizes the findings of the first phase of a pilot research programme, from the implementation experiences across nominated Member States. It focuses on enablers, barriers, and strengths for implementation. image credit: Getty Images, Yamini Ganga
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