經濟學人(The Economists) 發表題為"SHIFTING DEMOGRAPHICS: A global study on creating inclusive environments for ageing populations"的白皮書，探討如何讓中老年人更好地參與社會，好一些想法都適用於香港的安事務政策，以下抽取部份要點跟大家分享。 全文內容： https://ageingshift.economist.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Ageing-Shift_Shifting-demographics-whitepaper_FINAL.pdf Enabling adults to age well begins with taking a broad view of how society supports older members, not just focusing on the health system. As a whole, the G20 countries perform best in providing adaptive healthcare systems and worst in providing inclusive social structures and institutions, indicating that countries still have work to do to shift the focus towards building more welcoming societies for older adults as they age. Countries also have room to grow to provide more accessible economic opportunities to older workers. Government data collection isn’t yet robust enough to fully define and identify the problem and opportunity. There are a lack of data on dedicated health professionals, the extent of isolation and loneliness, as well as mental health. The SHIFT Index identified several priority areas that may form the basis of policy responses to improve the environment for older adults: 1. Collect better data: Countries should collect and publish detailed, age-disaggregated health and economic data annually so policymakers can develop evidence-based programs and policies. 2. Address poverty among older people: Some older adults choose to work longer, others must. Governments can ensure the financial health and security of older adults by creating more inclusive work environments. This starts with removing barriers to working longer that exist in some markets. 3. Prevent a care crisis among the elderly: The provision of care for older adults—both formal and informal—and the accessibility of, or access to, long-term care is ill-defined and is an area for further research. 4. Enable older people’s voices to be heard: The views and needs of older people are not routinely collected and they are not represented well in policy consultation. 5. Address age-related discrimination: Few countries categorise age-discrimination as a crime outside of employment practices. Fighting discrimination as well as physical, emotional and financial abuse of older adults, will encourage greater social cohesion across generations. 6. Support training and upskilling of older people: Supporting older people with the skills and help needed to navigate increasingly complex and digitised health and social care systems should be an area of focus. 中譯內容如下： 「如何令中老年人的老化過程更順利？首先廣泛地看社會如何支援中老年人，不僅關注健康衛生系統。總體而言，二十國集團國家在提供適應性醫療體系方面表現最佳，在提供包容性社會結構和機構方面表現最差。這些國家仍需努力建立包容中老年人的社會，為中老年人提供更多的經濟就業機會。 政府收集的數據不足以完全定義識別問題和機會，它缺乏有關研究孤獨和疏離程度，和心理健康等的相關議題。 SHIFT指數確定了一些領域，這些領域可以回應中老年人的需求，構成政策的基礎，以改善中老年人的環境： 1.收集更好的數據：各國應每年收集和發佈按年齡分類的健康和經濟詳細數據，政策制定者可以用這些數據製定證據為基礎的計劃和政策。 2.解決中老年人的貧困問題：有些中老年人選擇更長的時間工作，而一些中老年人則必須選擇更長的時間工作。政府可以通過創造更具包容性的工作環境，確保中老年人的合理財務和安全，這要消除一些市場中存在很長時間的障礙。 3.預防中老年人的護理危機：為中老年人提供正式和非正式護理，長期護理的可存取性尚不明確，這是需要解決和進一步研究的問題。 4.中老年人的聲音能夠被聽到：中老年人的觀點和需求沒有定期收集。在政策諮詢中，中老年人的觀點沒有很好地表現出來。 5.解決與年齡有關的歧視：很少國家把年齡歧視歸類為僱傭行為以外的犯罪。打擊歧視有助減少對中老年人的身體，情感和經濟上的負面評價，鼓勵各代人之間有更好的共融社會凝聚力。 6.支持對中老年人的培訓和技能提升：為中老年人提供技能和幫助，幫助他們應對日益複雜和數字化的工作，衛生和社會護理系統是重點領域。