Research and innovation on frailty and ageing

Ageing is a global and expanding phenomenon in advanced societies, an opportunity in its holistic vision but one that constitutes a socio-economic challenge of the first magnitude. This new demographic distribution generates significant imbalances in the social and health care system that could threaten the sustainability of the aforementioned system in developed countries, including the Basque Country. Public policies and research, development and innovation strategies promoted by public administrations at regional, state and European level, as well as in other advanced economy countries, are prioritising research into ageing, with the main priority being the identification of the determinants of successful ageing and the prevention of dependency.

The focus of the Summer Course is the frailty syndrome, a situation in which multiple factors converge and which is very prevalent in older people in whom functional reserve and adaptive capacity are diminished. A common precursor to loss of autonomy and, therefore, a prelude to dependence, frailty, unlike dependence, is reversible. Therefore, the early identification of those who suffer from it, as well as its proper assessment, would allow to avoid or delay the onset of dependence, thus improving the quality of life of these people and controlling the burden of social, family and health expenditure associated with dependence.

The Summer Course is organised by the FALCO consortium formed by the Biodonostia Institute, Tecnalia, the University of the Basque Country / Eukal Herriko Unibertsitatea, Vicomtech, Cidetec, IK4-Tekniker and Matia Instituto.

Objectives

• To present the impact of the ageing population on society.
• To make the frailty syndrome visible from different fields and focuses.
• To stimulate the debate between the different actors in our environment.
• To present different assessment and prevention strategies that are being developed at regional, national and European level.
• To show the most recent results that have been generated in research and innovation in the field of ageing at regional, national and European level.