Population and individual aging is an important modulator of health and social needs throughout the life course. Over the next decade, the Americas will age much faster than the rest of the world. This will require changes in the response capacity of health systems and increased interdependence between the health sector and other sectors involved in the dynamics of health and social care. Steps must be taken to overcome the physical, geographic, cultural, and financial barriers to access that older persons face when attempting to receive and make effective use of comprehensive integrated health services It will be necessary to:

a) Expand equitable access to comprehensive, quality health services with a strengthened first level of care, coordinated and organized in integrated health networks. These networks should include social and community services that guarantee continuity of care and respond to older people’s need to maintain their functional capacity and their optimal ability to live in and interact with their communities.

b) Strengthen the leadership and governance of health systems, the active social participation and empowerment of communities and individuals as drivers of their own health, and intersectoral coordination to address the social determinants of health and aging.

c) Achieve effective integration of social and health care that helps ensure the sustainability of coverage and universal access to health for older persons, including long-term care for those who need it.

d) Establish financing mechanisms that prevent direct payment from becoming an access barrier to services or leading to the impoverishment of older persons and their families.

Note: For further details on the scope of this Outcome, please refer to the PAHO Strategic Plan 20-25 Document.