NZ Association of Gerontology - Gerontology Matters

Welcome to the NZ Association of Gerontology Matters for October 2012

The New Zealand Association of Gerontology

Disseminating knowledge from quality research is a central part of NZAG’s purpose. Many people helped make the NZAG Conference on 13-15 September 2012 a success; the quality line up of keynote and invited speakers, the diverse range of excellent symposium, paper and poster presenters; the ‘backstage’ and ‘front of house’ teams; and, most of all you, the delegates.

Topics ranged from promoting participation in everyday life, to seniors eating well, reducing vulnerabilities in ageing societies, enhancing memory, ageing well for Māori, what the large longitudinal studies tell us about ageing in New Zealand, and to end of life matters.

The 158 conference delegates came from many locations including New Zealand, Australia, and Taiwan. Sixty-five percent of delegates (103 people) provided feedback via the post-conference online survey. On the whole, the feedback was very positive, providing good guidance for the next conference in 2014, please click here to see the PDF.

Watch this space for announcements about the NZAG Conference 2014.

From the Convenor

The aim of the conference this year was to present high quality evidence based information on issues of importance to an ageing society. The quality of the presentations was mostly excellent, with some high praise for the plenary speakers being received in evaluations, in particular Lindy Clemson (Promoting Participation in Everyday Life), Finbarr Martin, (The future of gerontology and geriatrics), and Nicola Lautenschlager (Cognitive Impairment: Current Knowledge on Prevention and Management, and What the Future Might Hold). For me Nicola was the highlight, but at the moment I am fascinated by neurological research and its possible impact on the future. The feedback from attendees showed that not everyone agrees with me, but they all (except one person) found some highlights, if not in some of the presentations and workshops, then in the social aspects of the two days. I was under a slight blackcloud of flu like symptoms, so most people tried to stay as far away from me as they could, but it is clear that many people mixed well and shared information that will be useful to them in their future work.

From my perspective, the conference did everything a conference should. It provided challenging new information, it provided workshops in which people could interact with the information, and it provided a warm atmosphere for information sharing and just having fun. For the conference committee this was an excellent result, although we would have liked the numbers attending to be greater. We had enough people there to make some money (and not make a loss), but I would have loved to have much of the information being presented shared across a much larger group of New Zealanders. That is something the next conference committee will have to consider – how to get higher numbers of attendees. I don’t know what the secret is; the last conference in Hamilton got twice as many attendees, but you can’t tell me Hamilton is the secret ingredient!.

Lastly, thank you to the conference committee and the conference organisers. I look back and realise I enjoyed myself during the organising process! In particular, thanks to Val who made life easy through her joint role on the committee and as President of the Association.
Stephen Jacobs
Conference Convenor 2012

Closing plenary with keynote speakers

Professor Finbarr Martin, keynote speaker, and Dr Stephen Jacobs, Conference Convenor

Professor Lindy Clemson, the opening keynote speaker

Forum Point 2 event managers

The NZAG Annual General Meeting

Twenty-two members attended the 2012 AGM held during the NZAG conference on 14 September. Notable items included:

Life Memberships were received and approved for Dr Margaret Guthrie, Ron Barker, Ken Hope (recently deceased), Dr David Richmond, Dr Jonathon Baskett, and Dr Graham Davison. We celebrate their significant contribution to making NZAG a significant part of the gerontology field in New Zealand under the auspices of the parent body, the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (IAGG).

NZAG Life Members - David Richmond, Margaret Guthrie, and Graham Davidson with Dr Sue Ogle (2nd from left), Sydney

The new NZAG Constitution was adopted paving the way for one centralised governance structure with roll out of four regional hubs to promote local activities for members. Members within each regional will soon receive information about how to elect a representative to join the nationally elected executive officers. You can view the document on the Charities website

Executive Officers elected were Valerie Wright-St.Clair, President, Stephen Neville, Vice-President, Judy Blakey, Treasurer, Asmita Patel, Secretary, and Diana O'Neill, National Executive Committee. Executive Officers will introduce themselves to you over the next few issues of Gerontology Matters.

2012-2013 Subscriptions are $40.25, continuing the previous low member rate of $35 plus GST.

NZAG founder, Dr Susan Ogle, came across from Sydney to be part of the action. It was exciting to take the opportunity to revisit the history of the Association and to acknowledge Dr Ogle.

NZAG 2012-2013 Membership

Member subscriptions are still at the low rate of $35 plus GST. Joining NZAG has never been easier. The new membership year runs to 30 June 2013.
Just follow the link to join NZAG online. Click here to join now.

Pass on this newsletter to colleagues who are not members; anyone can now join NZAG online anytime. Click here to join now.

The International Association of Geriatrics and Gerontology (IAGG)

IAGG: Like to receive the IAGG Newsletter?

As an NZAG Member, you are invited to register for the International Association of Gerontology & Geriatrics (IAGG) newsletter and stay up to date with international news.

You can register here for the International Association of Gerontology & Geriatrics newsletter or by sending your email contacts to IAGG contact@iagg.info

Access the previous IAGG newsletters by clicking here

Member Opportunities

Invitation to submit an article for a special Asia/Oceania Issue of IAGG Newsletter

Registration to the next World Congress in Seoul opened on October 1st, 2012 and IAGG would like to take the opportunity to publish a "Special Asia/Oceania" Newsletter to highlight the event and stimulate early bird registration (deadline December 31st, 2012).

IAGG is keen to insert information from Asia/Oceania countries on new scientific findings in all aspects of aging: social, biological, behavioural and clinical gerontology. They are happy to receive any material of your choice that could describe the current status of the elder community in New Zealand and the actions committed by your Organization and national authorities to promote Healthy Ageing.

They look forward to receiving your input for the "Special Asia/Oceania" issue to be published in December 2012 and thank you very much for your future involvement. Send through your articles for consideration to Constance de Seynes, IAGG Executive Board Officer.

Caring for Older People specialist event

M&K are developing a series of clinical specialist events for 2013, the format will have multiple specialist speakers delivering presentations to colleagues attending from all over the UK. The idea is to share your experience in practice, innovation or research.

For the care of the older person event we are considering (the following list is by no means exhaustive):

Admission and discharge methods
Assessment and care management
Clinical expertise in areas such as falls prevention, dementia, nutrition, hydration and mobility

If you have experience, data, tools or research to share we would like to hear from you.

Please email events@mkupdate.co.uk outlining:

A brief outline of the subject area you would like to present
Your experience in the caring for older people field and of speaking at conferences

Essentially the idea is to provide colleagues attending from all over the UK the opportunity to learn of your work and be able to develop this further at their own place of work.

Venues will be London and/or Manchester and following the event(s) a dedicated online message board will be made available for those who attend to maintain contact.

Please consider forwarding this message to appropriate clinical and academic colleagues.

Links to Other Resources

Bhartiya Samaj Charitable Trust

Here is the First Edition of Our Monthly Newsletter - 'Bhartiya Samaj Gazette'. Special offer with the first edition. Get a FREE Numerology Report by clicking on the "PRODUCTS" button, when you open the newsletter, click here to view.

Wellington City Council's Positive Ageing Policy

Wellington members contribtuted to the development of Wellington City Council’s Positive Ageing Policy by way of submission on behalf of NZAG.

Wellington City Council advise that submissions closed on the 20 April and oral submissions were heard on the 9 of May. The final policy was adopted by the Council on the 29 August.

The policy is a Council-wide response to the rapid growth over the next twenty years in the percentage of older people in the population. The need for such a policy was widely supported however there were three primary areas of concern from submitters.

The three areas were ensuring that the policy translated into actions by the Council, that meaningful monitoring was put in place, and that the importance of the impacts of the baby boomers moving into retirement was fully appreciated in Council responses. Changes were made reflecting these points.

The final policy will be published on our website - Wellington.govt.nz – shortly. In the meantime, you can access a copy of the report to the Strategy and Policy Committee, which details the amendments, by clicking here

Conference Calendar

Gerontological Society of America - Annual Scientific Meeting

14-18 November 2012 - San Diego, California

GSA's Annual Scientific Meeting brings together more than 4,000 of the brightest minds in the field of aging. This meeting is the premier gathering of gerontologists from both the United States and around the world. They participate in over 400 scientific sessions including symposia, paper, and poster presentations.

GSA’s scientific program is one of the most respected and competitive of its kind. The theme is “Charting New Frontiers in Aging.” Charting implies connections — within and across disciplines, professions, individuals, cohorts, generations, systems, environments, cultures and nations. By charting connections, we move beyond our personal insights and investigations to achieve a deeper and more meaningful understanding of aging and its implications. Find out more here.

Consortium for Health in Ageing Seminar Series

13 November 2012 - Auckland, New Zealand

"Policy Modelling and demographic ageing: Long-term health and social care"

13 November 2012, 12.30 pm – 1.30 pm
Bldg 731, Lecture Theatre Rm 201
Tamaki Innovation Campus

Roy Lay-Yee, Senior Research Fellow, and Janet Pearson, Statistician, Centre of Methods & Policy Application in the Social Sciences (COMPASS)

The demographic ageing of New Zealand society has greatly increased the proportion of the population in the older age groups along with an increasing demand for both health and social care. We report on a dynamic microsimulation model focused on two strategic areas: the impact of long-term, disabling and chronic conditions affecting older people, and their consumption of health and social care across the spectrum. The model was built on data from two New Zealand series of repeated cross-sectional surveys on health and disability respectively. We describe the construction of the model and show examples of how the model can be used to test policy-relevant scenarios for example by changing levels of disability or the balance of care and observing the impact on downstream outcomes. We conclude with assessing the potential benefits of our modelling approach and our specific model.

The Consortium for Health in Ageing is a collaborating group of researchers with common interests. Ngaire Kerse, Martin Connolly, Merryn Gott, Michal Boyd, Harry Rae, Matthew Parsons, Tim Kenealy, Paul Rouse welcome you to the seminar series.

Seminars will be held 2 monthly, venues will rotate between Tamaki campus, the Business School and Grafton Campus School of Nursing. Watch for the adverts.

Asia Pacific Osteoporosis Meeting

13-16 December 2012 - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

IOF is organising the IOF Regionals 3rd Asia Pacific Osteoporosis Meeting, where more than 1,000 healthcare professionals are expected to gather for an overview of Osteoporosis, fragility fractures and related musculoskeletal diseases delivered by a distinct panel of international and regional speakers. Please see the programme for more information.

5th Annual Elder Law Conference

18-19 February 2013 - Crowne Plaza, Auckland

Protecting the vulnerable ageing population

The older people get, the more vulnerable they become. The law provides protection for many of the relevant issues affecting the older population but is there a thorough understanding amongst health professionals of how elder law works? The 5th Annual Elder Law for the Health Sector Conference aims to provide a comprehensive insight into the top legal issues affecting aged care practitioners and care givers, including:

Enduring Powers of Attorney
Advance Care Planning
Capacity assessment
Advance directives
Elder abuse
Health information privacy

And many more. Click here to view the programme.

This conference is also being held on the same dates and at the same location as the Emergency Departments and Intensive Care Settings Conference, meaning delegates from both conferences can attend sessions for either event.

Don’t forget: Register two people from your organisation at the same time, and the second person pays only $395 (conference only). See
Special Offer: Readers can use the discount code 1DBCH5 to get 10% off the full ticket price (applies only to the conference full price only).

View the full agenda and register here.

Opportunities of Ageing Conference 2013

10-11 April 2013 - Hastings, New Zealand

Hastings District Council is proud to host the 2013 Opportunities of Ageing Conference on 10 & 11 of April 2013 at the Hawke’s Bay Opera House. The conference will focus on our older population and the outstanding value of wisdom, talent and economy our communities obtain from this important demographic.

For more information, see the flyer attached below or contact Nina Siers at ninas@hdc.govt.nz or Claire Miller at Clairem@hdc.govt.nz or by phone on (06) 8715000.

Global Disability, Ageing & Healthcare Conferences Online Guide

See a more comprehensive listing of conferences at our web site

For more information click here.

Upcoming summer courses at UNSW, Sydney

12 November-7 December 2012 - Sydney, Australia

The School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of New South Wales (UNSW) is offering a range courses in its Summer School Program (12 November to 7 December 2012). These courses are open to all health professionals - individuals do not have to enroll in a degree program to attend. The courses address a range of important issues including:

Disaster and crises management (including a WHO course)
Inequalities and health
Primary health care practice
Child and maternal health
Economic evaluation of health programs

Click here for more information about Summer School.

8th European Congress of Biogerontolgy (ECB 2013)

10-13 March 2013 - Israel

Members are cordially invited to participate in the 8th European Congress of Biogerontology (ECB 2012), to be held on March 10-13, 2013 in Israel, starting at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheve, and continuing at the Dead Sea. Please click here for full details. Among the major questions that will be addressed are:

Is ageing a common mechanism of age-related diseases?
How can the breakthroughs in regenerative medicine help in promoting healthy lifespan?
What other ways can we achieve this goal?

The meeting will provide a unique arena for discussing these issues and will help to better understand - where we are and where to go. Developing recommendations for new strategies in health policy for middle aged and elderly people will be an important outcome of the meeting. The meeting will comprise invited talks, short oral presentations and poster sessions. There will also be enough time for personal communications, while enjoying great food and wine, authentic coffee and lovely trips with fantastic views.

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