Healthy Ageing: The state of the evidence and available resources

Australia’s population is growing older and a greater proportion of Australians are living longer than ever before. As a result, more people are developing, and living longer with, diseases and disabilities associated with ageing. With escalating health care demands the expected increase in burden of disease in Australia has been reported to be unsustainable. On an individual level, disease and disability can impair quality of life and wellbeing by restricting activity, mobility, social connectedness, and community participation.

This report was commissioned by National Seniors Australia to evaluate the current state of play in evidence pertaining to the association between modifiable risk factors and healthy ageing. In addition, the report sought to identify and explore the availability of online healthy ageing resources that seniors may access to assess their risk of chronic disease and find information about preventing physical and cognitive decline in later life.