The UK House of Lords Science and Technology Committee has asked for contributions for its new inquiry into how science and technology can enable healthier living in old age.
Life span has increased over recent decades, but health span, the period of time people live in good health, has generally not kept pace, and so older people are living longer with ill health. This increased duration of ill health, both physical and psychological, and often compounded by loneliness, can be challenging for individuals; and the increasing number of people affected is placing pressure on health services and social care, threatening to overwhelm the funding mechanisms, and failing those in need.
Increasing health span has been adopted as a policy objective by the UK government in the Industrial Strategy’s 'Ageing Society' Grand Challenge, which aims to ensure that people can enjoy at least five extra healthy, independent years of life by 2035. This House of Lords inquiry will seek to determine whether the Government's ambition to increase health span is achievable in principle, and which approaches may be most successful in practice.
The Committee is seeking evidence about healthy living in old age, from the areas of science and technology. These may include:
- The scientific understanding of the ageing process, and how these areas of research could lead to treatments for delaying or managing the negative effects of ageing.
- Technologies that can improve health and wellbeing in old age, and technologies that can enable independent living in old age.
- Opportunities for the UK to commercialise discoveries and innovations relating to healthier ageing.
- The policy implications of a healthier older population.
“The government wants to increase the health span of the population, which would mean that people could live independently for longer, with better health and wellbeing, and would reduce pressure on services and finances,” said chairman of the Committee, Lord Patel. “The committee will explore how achievable the government’s aim is by looking at what treatments and technologies could be available to address ageing and ageing-related diseases, and at the scientific basis for public health advice about healthy lifestyle.”
