Healthcare for the elderly has not "caught up" with the rate of population aging.

While the number of elderly people is increasing, the health system has not met the care needs of this population group.

This year’s Vietnam Population Day (December 26) has the theme “Community joins hands to care for the elderly”. This is an opportunity for society to pay attention to a very “hot” and pressing issue, which is comprehensive care for the elderly in the context of the rapidly aging population. However, the big problem is that while the number of elderly people is increasing, the health system has not met the care needs of this population group.

VOV.VN reporter interviewed Mr. Nguyen Van Tan, Deputy Director General of the General Department of Population and Family Planning (Ministry of Health) on the occasion of Vietnam Population Day.

Healthcare has not "caught up" with the aging rate

PV: Sir, how will we adapt to the current rapid population aging rate?

Mr. Nguyen Van Tan: Currently, the proportion of elderly people in our country's total population is increasing. In 2011, the number of people aged 65 and over officially surpassed the 7% threshold, the proportion of people aged 60 and over reached 10%. According to convention, Vietnam has begun to enter the process of "aging" the population. If in 2012, there was only 1 elderly person for every 11 people, it is estimated that by 2029, there will be 1 elderly person for every 6 people and it is forecasted that by 2049, there will be 1 elderly person for every 4 people.

Mr. Nguyen Van Tan, Deputy Director General of the General Department of Population and Family Planning

In particular, Vietnam is considered one of the countries with the fastest aging population in Asia, taking only about 17-18 years to move from 7% to 14%. This means that by around 2027-2028, Vietnam will officially enter the aging population period.

This requires Vietnam to fully adapt in terms of economy, society, infrastructure as well as other cultural factors. If we do not pay attention and prepare for adaptation step by step, at some point we will encounter great difficulties in sustainable socio-economic development.

For example: When the number of elderly people increases, the products produced to suit the elderly must also be proportional, such as the number on the telephone must also be larger; the number of elderly people tend to live independently, so kitchen utensils and dining tables must also be designed accordingly; walkways must also be considered to be reserved for the elderly...

All of these need to be taken into account for a society that adapts to the elderly. That is not to mention the larger issues such as how to care for the elderly in the community, family and society, because this issue requires special design, different from caring for young people.

Reporter: Reports show that up to 95% of the elderly suffer from dual illnesses. In your opinion, what are the causes and solutions to improve health care for this population group, so that they can be healthy in old age?

Mr. Nguyen Van Tan:There is still a lot to be done in the field of elderly care, especially in the area of ​​prevention. We lack proactive planning in this area.

Firstly, the number of elderly people with health insurance cards is not large. Those who are subject to compulsory health insurance, those who are near-poor, poor, and those in difficult areas who are subsidized by the state to buy health insurance account for a small proportion; the rest are those who do not have health insurance cards.

Elderly people in Nghia Lien commune (Nghia Dan) attend a community-based elderly health care consultation session (Photo: Ngoc Anh)

Second, even in the system of people with health insurance cards, prevention still has shortcomings, that is, there is no regular health monitoring for people living in the community. We have a commune-level health system, but it mainly focuses on activities with campaign elements. There is no health monitoring record for people, including the elderly, to have instructions on living, exercising, using medicine... to avoid the risk of causing disease. We have not designed these things.

This is an issue that needs to be improved in primary health care, preventive medicine in elderly health care. Besides, the rehabilitation system still relies mainly on hospitals. We have not yet organized a rehabilitation system for everyone in general, including the elderly.

PV: In reality, in hospitals, has the health care for the elderly met the requirements, sir?

Mr. Nguyen Van Tan:The Ministry of Health has issued documents and circulars to guide all medical facilities nationwide on elderly health care. Large hospitals must have a geriatric department. Hospitals that have not yet established a geriatric department must reserve a certain number of beds for the elderly.

However, up to now, the whole country has only 28 hospitals with geriatric departments. Our geriatric system develops slowly compared to current needs.

It should also be added that according to calculations in other countries, the average cost of health care for the elderly is 8 times higher than that for young people. For example, in Korea, nearly 30% of the elderly population spends nearly 80% of the total cost of health insurance.

We still have a certain percentage of elderly people who do not have health insurance cards, so every time they get sick, the elderly who are poor or near-poor will fall into economic crisis.

Strive to slow down the aging process

PV: In the future, what solutions will the General Department of Population have to contribute to promoting health care for the elderly?

Mr. Nguyen Van Tan:The General Department of Population is the agency that researches and proposes population policies. However, to solve the problem of population aging requires the participation and cooperation of many different ministries and sectors. We try to maintain a suitable population development policy, and find a way to slow down the aging process. This does not mean the number of elderly people decreases, but rather slows down the rate of increase in the proportion of elderly people in the population.

Our policy of trying to maintain replacement level fertility, with each couple having an average of two children, will help slow down the increase in the proportion of elderly people in the population.

We also coordinate with other agencies to propose appropriate policies for comprehensive care of the elderly, in terms of health, society and culture. We test comprehensive health care models based on research experiences from other countries; propose models suitable to the socio-economic and cultural conditions of Vietnam, creating the basis for all forces in society to participate in the process of better health care for the elderly.

PV: Thank you!./.

According to VOV