The challenge of an ageing population motivated the European Commission (EC) and many of the Member States (MSs) of the European Union (EU) to co-fund the first Joint Action (JA) on the management of frailty: “A comprehensive approach to promote a disability-free advanced age in Europe: the JAHEE initiative”. It was funded under the 2015 call of the Third European Health Programme of the EU 2014-2020.
A JA is a grant for actions co-financed with MSs or other countries participating in the Programme and the EC, to allow nominated authorities to take forward work on jointly identified issues that have a clear added value for the EU under the Health Programme.
The JAHEE JA has brought together 34 partners, governments and non-governmental institutions (mainly academia), from 22 MSs for three years (2017-2019). It aimed to build a common understanding on frailty to be used in the MSs as a basis for a common approach to manage older people who have, or are at risk of developing, frailty to promote a disability-free advanced age in Europe, enhancing healthy ageing.
This report summarises nearly three years of work by the JAHEE JA Consortium. It includes main results and clear recommendations for Promoting Healthy Ageing through a Frailty Prevention Approach (FPA) across Europe. The recommendations are based on systematic reviews and analysis of the existing knowledge base, consensus building, and surveys of the MSs within the Consortium. Other experts and external advisers commented on draft documents and participated in discussions at different points during the process. This has brought new insights to the debate and enriched our understanding of the different stakeholder perspectives including policy, political, management, professional and academic views.
We would like to thank all the partners of the Consortium, very specially to the work-package leaders and coleaders, and to the Expert Panel and the Advisory Board Members for their strong support throughout these years. Special mention and acknowledgment to Inés García-Sánchez, deputy coordinator of this project during the first two years. Without the motivation of all of them, their involvement, efforts and hard work this JA would not have achieved so much.
Ageing is one of the biggest challenges that Europe is facing (WHO 2015). Demographic trends suggest a future increase in age-related disability and dependency, which not only impacts on the well-being of individuals affected, but also the sustainability of health and social care systems (Murray and Lopez 2013).
Nevertheless, recent data suggests that disability and dependency trajectories can be changed providing the opportunity for older adults to live longer and healthy lives (Christensen et al. 2013). There is evidence that prevention and early management of frailty can avoid many of the major negative health-related outcomes associated with ageing including functional decline and dependency (WHO, 2015).
The JAHEE Joint Action (JA) is the first European action on frailty in people with advanced age. It is co- funded by the European Union and the Member States (MSs), involving 34 partners from 22 MSs.