Overview

 

Since 1950, life expectancy in France has increased by more than 15 years. Over a quarter of the French population will be over the age of 65 by the year 2050.

 

To build a “healthy aging society,” it is crucial to identify the public policies, models of care provision, innovations, and funding models that will allow older populations to make the most of these extra years.

 

 

Contrary to a popular belief, the demographic transition can be viewed in a positive light, provided that we set up policies and innovations geared toward the changes to come. Older people play an important role in our societies. Furthermore, aging is not synonymous with dependence. We now know that loss of autonomy can be prevented and/or dealt with effectively by prioritizing targeted assistance, tailored to the needs of the individual. Finally, aging often brings out the best in society, particularly in terms of intergenerational altruism and solidarity (between children, grandchildren, etc.).

 

Research in health is enabling us to better understand the process of losing independence and demonstrates that this loss can be effectively prevented through targeted interventions. Engineering, computer science, and the biomedical sciences are enabling us to create solutions to promote independence. Meanwhile, research in the social sciences and humanities allows us to identify major societal challenges, evaluate public policies, and improve the running of healthcare systems.

A research program 15 years in the making

The Aging UP! research consortium forms an extension of the aging research program launched by Thomas Rapp in 2010 and joined by Jonathan Sicsic in 2016.

The program, initiated by the Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Applied Research in Health Economics LIRAES (URP 4470), has received funding from several bodies, including the Innovative Medicines Initiative (SPRINTT), the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (French Deposits and Consignments Fund), MACIF, and the Caisse Nationale d’Assurance Vieillesse (French National Pension Fund). It brings together the work of 12 postdoctoral fellows, 10 lecturer-researchers, and 4 guest researchers from countries other than France.

 

Today, the research project has taken on new dimensions, thanks to the support of Mutuelles AXA’s Health Sponsorship program, which selected the Aging UP! research consortium’s project as part of its 2022 Call for Proposals. This support provided the opportunity to hire a team of three Postdoctoral Researchers, Anaïs Cheneau, and Isabel Cavalli, as well as a General Secretary, Sonia Emprin, a PhD Student Lucile Mulot and Research Assistants. The launch of the Aging UP! survey will pave the way for international publications.

 

A far-reaching and ambitious program

The aim of this program is to study the economic consequences of aging, the effectiveness of older adult policies, and the organization of care provision.

Our work has already yielded breakthrough results, in particular with regard to:

  • patterns of care utilization in physically frail older adults;
  • economic and social inequalities linked to loss of independence;
  • determinants of demand for long-term care insurance;
  • assessing the impact of older adult policies; and
  • assessing the effectiveness of novel care models.

Our team also studies the key issue of the attractiveness of jobs involving older adult care and the shortage of caregivers.

Finally, we are developing econometric models to allow us to gain a better understanding of changing trends regarding care pathways, loss of independence, and the declining health of the working population.

 

Scientific research on a larger scale

Our research draws on data compiled by the Gateway to Global Aging Repository in order to include all OECD countries in our analyses. These data present the advantage of bringing together several longitudinal surveys on aging in Europe (in over 20 countries), in America (in the United States, Canada, and Mexico), and in Asia (in Korea, Japan, and China). These data can be used to study aging trends in OECD countries and to compare different systems. We are currently conducting several projects involving these data, with the participation of researchers from King’s College London, the London School of Economics, Harvard, and Columbia University.

 

We are also working on data from several national surveys (the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement in the United States, the German Socio-Economic Panel in Germany, surveys in residential facilities for older people in France, etc.) in order to analyze care provision for older populations across several countries. These analyses form part of an extension of the “Who Cares?” report, led by Thomas Rapp at OECD from 2017 to 2019. These data explore the impact of jobs in older adult care on the health of workers, the attractiveness of these roles, and the quality of care observed in care facilities.

 

In addition, the Aging UP! team continues to monitor data gathered as part of the European SPRINTT trial. This project, financed under the Innovative Medicines Initiative, with a total budget of 56 million euros, has tested the impact of physical coaching sessions and telehealth solutions on loss of independence and care pathways among the over 70s in 11 European countries. It has also provided socioeconomic data that can be used to analyze the effectiveness of these pathways.

 

Aging UP! works to fund doctoral and postdoctoral fellowships in order to continue capitalizing on these different data sources.

 

 

Active involvement in the scientific community

Aging UP! is actively engaged in the scientific community: it organizes research seminars and colloquia, publishes scientific papers, book chapters, and expert reports, participates in national and international seminars and conferences, and so on.

The research consortium also organizes seminars for the general public based around various social issues—for example, agism in society—which serve to foster debate and provide a platform for various actors whose work involves older populations, such as academics, economists, and health and social care workers.

The aim of these activities is to encourage the active involvement of key players with a link to the research consortium, such as nursing homes, residential living facilities, businesses, and patient organizations. Mobilizing these care networks helps us to base our scientific research on real-life observations using resources such as surveys and case studies.

Aging UP! also aims to encourage conversation on these issues. To this end, we regularly feature in various media, both print (Les Echos, Le Monde art. 1, Le Monde art. 2, L’Opinion) and digital (Podcasts 1, Podcast 2, etc.). We also publish podcasts and videos of our scientific events.