Public Health Dialogue: notes on the problems older people face

Our discussion focused on older people and the challenges they face in terms of public health. We recognised that there was a need to increase older people's knowledge of public health, but this was a challenging task. While the current generation of older people tended to be less vocal about their health, the baby boomer retirees, those born between 1946 and 1964, were likely to be much more demanding. What struck all of us was the need to tailor our responses to the needs of older people at a neighbourhood level. Public health issues for people with good pensions, secure homes and a good local environment were not the same as the issues facing older people who lived in areas of high unemployment and social deprivation. For older people, isolation was something that had a significant impact on their health and wellbeing. The role of public health in reducing social isolation was as important as reducing smoking and alcohol consumption. How technology will make an impact on older people and their public health was difficult to predict. Certainly, younger older people were more likely to use technology – what impact that would have on their health was difficult to quantify. Our discussion made it clear that organisations had to continue to adapt to the changing shape of older people's health needs. Prevention was a key part of reducing unnecessary hospital admissions. Prevention was as much about workers in social care and health having good knowledge about public health and the health needs of older people as it was about making direct health interventions. The experience of people in the group suggested that if you got the training of workers right, the opportunity to increase wellbeing and make better use of resources was already evident in many places.