SOUTH AFRICA— The National Institute of Aging (NIA), the premier institute researching and studying healthy aging globally, has announced it has awarded US$27 million to researchers in South Africa for their 5- year long Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study in South Africa (HAALSI).
Researchers from the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies (HCPDS), the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the University of the Witwatersrand, and the University of Cape Town are at the heart of the healthy aging project.
Plans for the next 5-year phase of HAALSI include a 4th and 5th survey wave of a community-representative cohort in rural Agincourt, South Africa, and the launch of a nationally representative longitudinal HAALSI survey across South Africa.
The newly funded phase of the HAALSI study will expand its focus to include cognitive ageing and dementia.
The project is led by Prof. Lisa Berkman, Thomas D. Cabot Professor of Public Policy and of Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Director of HCPDS, and Thomas Gaziano, Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
Prof. Berkman said, “This study addresses critical issues shaping inequalities within South Africa and cross-country differences between South Africa and other countries in the Health and Retirement cluster of sister studies.”
She added that it would allow researchers to look at ways in which emerging low- to middle-income countries confront population aging in ways that are different from approaches in higher income countries where population aging has happened less rapidly.
Thomas Gaziano on the other hand noted that the significant grant united experts from multiple disciplines, institutions, and countries, and allows them to look deeply into the changing patterns of healthy aging in Africa.
“It’s giving us the opportunity to explore the interactions between lived experience in harsh conditions, endemic HIV/AIDS, social policy, and chronic conditions of aging, especially dementia and cardiometabolic conditions,” Gaziano reiterated.
Stephen Tollman from the University of Witwatersrand and Murray Leibbrandt from the University of Cape Town will join Berkman and Gaziano for the launch of the HAALSI national survey.
The research team intends to work closely with policymakers and public health researchers in South Africa to gain insights into healthy ageing and develop strategies to tackle associated health issues.
The team will engage directly with policymakers and public health researchers in South Africa including Statistics South Africa, the South African Medical Research Council and South African Population Research Infrastructure Network, as the country takes on new challenges around ensuring the healthy aging of its population.
By combining specific data about ageing in South Africa with information from global ageing studies, such as the Health and Retirement Study.
The HAALSI project will also offer a unique opportunity to compare the biological, social, and economic factors influencing chronic diseases and their effects on functional and health outcomes in ageing populations worldwide.
This comparative approach will help shed light on health inequities shaped by social and economic factors.
The findings and insights derived from this study will contribute to policy development and shape interventions aimed at promoting the well-being of ageing populations, not only in South Africa but also worldwide.
For all the latest healthcare industry news from Africa and the World, subscribe to our NEWSLETTER, and YouTube Channel, follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn, and like us on Facebook.
