Healthy ageing

The theme of this Bulletin is healthy ageing. Healthy ageing is defined as the development and maintenance of optimal mental, social and physical well-being and function in older adults (Minnesota Department of Health, 2006). As the global population continues to age, the percent of total population aged over 60 is increasing just as the fertility rate is decreasing. Refer to Terayama in this issue. Where people were not expected to live beyond their sixties, we are now seeing a roster of centenarians in various parts of the world. This seems to be a success story for public health policy on the one hand, but there is a need to make sure that communities are safe, promote health and well-being and use health services and community programmes to prevent or minimise disease. With the advent of the digital age and greater social accessibility, more healthy elders are taking advantage of opportunities to extend their knowledge, increase social interaction and learn new skills. Staying safe is a factor that must be addressed with ageing. Refer to Craik in this issue. Successful ageing has been coined to indicate a continuum of health through the life span. We are witnessing however, in our health care services, more and younger people with stroke, diabetes and heart attacks. To avoid chronic illnesses and disability, much literature is being promulgated on how to reduce stress, increase positivity, improve diet and exercise. An industry has developed to respond to people's desire to stay young at least in looks. Refer to the guest editorial by Lim and Vytialingam in this issue. Occupational therapists are using an active ageing approach in Chile with joint use of play, creative development and dialogue. Refer to Rojas Alten in this issue. As noted by Iwarsson in this issue, research is informing practice and strengthening the quality of services for older adults. Examples include preventive home visits, community-based rehabilitation, fall prevention, lifestyle redesign and assistive technology provision.

As I started this editorial, I noted a message from the WFOT Secretariat to Member Organisations (14 January 2015) concerning global strategies related to the management of chronic disease which in turn promotes healthy ageing.

WHO has identified the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) has a major global and regional agenda (WHO Global NCD Action Plan 2013–2020) and will be asking national governments to sign off on this which will then impact on national health agendas. NCDs, also known as chronic diseases, are not passed from person to person. They are of long duration and generally slow progression. The four main types of NCDs are cardiovascular diseases (like heart attacks and stroke), cancers, chronic respiratory diseases (such as chronic obstructed pulmonary disease and asthma) and diabetes. Some key facts about NCDs are:

•	NCDs kill more than 36 million people each year,
•	nearly 80% of NCD deaths – 29 million – occur in low- and middle-income countries,
•	cardiovascular diseases account for most NCD deaths, or 17.3 million people annually, followed by cancers (7.6 million), respiratory diseases (4.2 million) and diabetes (1.3 million),
•	these four groups of diseases account for around 80% of all NCD deaths.

An important fact is that they share four risk factors: tobacco use, physical inactivity, the harmful use of alcohol and unhealthy diets.

WHO is tasked to facilitate and enhance coordination of activities, multi-stakeholder engagement and action across sectors at the local, national, regional and global levels, in order to contribute to the implementation of the WHO Global NCD Action Plan 2013–2020. The functions of the WHO GCM/NCD are: 1. advocating and raising awareness on NCDs, 2. disseminating knowledge and information on how to address NCDs, 3. encouraging innovation and identifying barriers, 4. advancing multi-sectoral action for NCDs, and 5. advocating for the mobilisation of resources for NCDs (World Health Organization, 2014).

The WHO Global Coordination Mechanism on NCDs (GCM/NCD) will be led by Member States. Other Participants include UN organisations, as well as non-State actors. Relevant NGOs in official relations with WHO were invited to apply to become a participant to the WHO GCM/NCD. WFOT has undertaken this process and has been accepted. WFOT members will continue to be involved in this engagement.

Disaster preparedness, response and risk reduction

As catastrophes continue to occur around the world, we wish to remember particularly the Asia Pacific Tsunami and those affected 10 years ago in a disaster which raised global awareness of the imminent needs to prepare, be forewarned, and understand necessary actions… but also raised cognizance of how we can mitigate the results of catastrophe through risk reduction strategies. Occupational therapists are very much involved in this process as was obviated at our World Congress last June in Japan where one of the major themes was centred around disaster and disaster response. Our global community through the United Nations is now working to establish guidelines and strategies to support resilience in communities. The post 2015 Framework for Action will follow from the first 10-year international disaster risk reduction plan, The Hyogo Framework for Action 2005–2015 (HFA) – Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters, which was developed just after the Asian Tsunami, as the platform for knowledge, practice, implementation, experience and the science for disaster risk reduction.

WFOT Bulletin goes online

In WFOT's continuing effort to streamline, update and provide the best possible service for our members, the Bulletin is now being produced online with Maney Publishing. As you will be aware, print versions may be supplied for a price, but we will be saving paper and conserving our planet as we work to increase the visibility and viability of the WFOT Bulletin. A very positive aspect of this change is that archived issues of the Bulletin are now available online; go to www.maneyonline.com/otb to keep updated. Citing articles will be much easier as all will now have a DOI (digital object identifier) which remains with the electronic data for as long as it exists (Wikipedia, 2015). I hope you all enjoy the new format Bulletin online. Please go to www.maneyonline.com/loi/otb to learn more.