Fields of Expertise
In 2015, the WHO introduced the concept of healthy ageing, which was endorsed by 194 Member States at the World Health Assembly in 2016. However, to effectively support the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing, there is a pressing need to address measurement gaps and strengthen monitoring and evaluation activities. The concept of healthy ageing must also be operationalised from a programmatic perspective, with urgent guidance needed on measures, data collection, analysis, and reporting to support global, regional, and national monitoring of actions, programmes, and policies. To address these needs, the WHO plans to develop a Population Survey Module on Ageing for the World Health Survey Plus, aiming to improve health information systems and inform policy-making.
Our WHO Collaborating Centre (WHOCC) is at the forefront of life course and ageing research. Specialising in this field, this WHOCC leverages data from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA). TILDA is a prospective longitudinal population-based study that examines the lifestyle and other determinants of health and disease throughout the life course and into older age. With over a decade of data collection and extensive participant follow-up, TILDA offers comprehensive insights into physical, cognitive, psychological, and social aspects of ageing, aligning with the WHO Healthy Ageing framework (intrinsic capacity, functional ability, environments).
TILDA’s dataset, including various biomarkers, supports in-depth research into the biological aspects of ageing. Our expertise includes modelling ageing trajectories to understand variability and identify opportunities for preventive interventions, as well as using biomarker research to target vulnerable subgroups.
Under WHO’s leadership and guidance, the WHOCC will:- Develop a guide to best practice for the collection of robust population survey and clinical measurements.
- Develop the ageing survey module for inclusion in the WHO World Health Survey+ (WHS+) with the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) for the Measurement, Monitoring and Evaluation of the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing.
- Develop training material based on TILDA’s in-house training, clinical health assessment videos on topics, and other supports in areas relevant to collecting robust population survey and clinical measurements.
- Ensure training materials will be available through in the WHO Academy platform.
More information:
The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing
