Please join us for this seminar in the Columbia Aging Center Series:
Global differences in adaptation to societal aging: a cross-sectional comparison of 143 countries
Cynthia Chen, PhD
Assistant Professor of Public Health and Ageing
(in SSH School of Public Health, National University of Singapore)
Thursday, May 16, 11:30am-12:30pm
Attendance is VIA ZOOM OR IN PERSON: 722 West 168th Street, Rosenfield Building, Hess Commons
This is a hybrid seminar. Please register in advance for in-person or online attendance:
https://tinyurl.com/CACChen
Abstract: While societal aging is a global phenomenon, the aging experience differs across countries. We have constructed a multidimensional aging index of 143 countries’ adaptation to demographic transformation and assessed the relation between societal adaptation and national economic status, using international data from various sources. The index is a weighted summation of five domains important for societal aging: well-being, productivity and engagement, equity, cohesion, and security. Top-performing countries on the Index were high-income countries from the European and Oceania regions. Only 8 out of 143 (3.5%) countries had higher scores for women than men. Countries with the most significant sex differences were primarily low- and middle-income countries. The multidimensional Index permits cross-national comparisons of the overall societal adaptation and specific age-relevant domains. It may be helpful in the identification of specific targets for the development of policies and programs to enhance the likelihood that older persons will age successfully.
