Catalonia, awarded again as Active and Healthy Ageing Reference Site
The badge, awarded by the European Innovation Partnership in Active and Healthy Ageing, recognizes the joint work between the Department of Health, the Department of Social Rights and the other entities that are part of the Catalan coalition, including the IDIAPJGol, to advance the development of digital and innovative technological solutions applicable to the improvement of the life and health of older people.
This initiative launched by the European Commission has granted the AHA Reference Site distinction to 65 regions of Europe. Among them is Catalonia, which recredits its status with the highest qualification.
As a requirement to obtain the AHA Reference Site, all regions have had to form a coalition based on the four-fold propeller model with government representatives, health and care providers, policy makers, research institutions, academic entities, industry, civil society and patients, both regionally and locally.
The Reference Site Catalonia is coordinated by the TIC Health Social Foundation and formed by the Department of Health and the Department of Social Rights of Catalonia, the City Council of Barcelona, the University Institute for Research in Primary Care Jordi Gol (IDIAP Jordi Gol), the Clinic Hospital of Barcelona, the BCN Health Hub, the Health and Aging Foundation of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, the University of Barcelona and Eurecat.
In the next few weeks all parties to the coalition will meet to review concrete coordination actions defined within the framework of recreditation. The actions planned in the Catalan region focus on two main aspects: on the one hand, developing models of integrated social and health care in the house, residential and also mental health field; and on the other, designing information systems shared between the health and social field so that they can carry out personal monitoring and control of the welfare of citizens and the use of resources.
Today, in Catalonia, more than 1,300,000 people over the age of 65 live with some type of chronic disease. In the near future, more than two million people over the age of 65 will be able to benefit from the implementation of innovative solutions aimed at promoting active and healthy ageing.
