Welcome Message from IARM20 Congress president

Greetings from the President of IARM

As president of IARM it is an immense pleasure for me to invite you to the 20th International Congress of the International Association and Rural Health and the 67th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Association of Rural Medicine. This Joint Congress takes place from the 10th till the 12 of October in Tokyo.

The focus of this international Congress on “Challenges to community-based rural medicine in aging societies with declining productive populations” is relevant for several countries all over the world. According to the 2015 Revision of the World Population Prospects of the United Nation Population Division, we have to expect a significant change in the rate of people with 65 years or older in the world countries. This is especially true for Japan where, by the year 2025, almost one in every five Japanese people will be at the age of 75 or over. In other countries, the aging of the societies is also remarkably progressing. When we look at Europe for instance, the population shift towards elderly people requires profound changes in the health system especially in Italy, France and Germany. Also in developing countries, the number of people older than 65 is gradually increasing. So, we can assume that addressing the issues of an aging society will be a common challenge worldwide.

As the generational change will mostly happen in rural areas, it is of particular importance to face its consequences for rural communities. Concepts of country-specific measures have to be developed taking into account the special situation of elderlies caused by rurality. The aim must be to establish a constant access to medical, nursing and social support on a low threshold level even in remote areas. The expansion of multiprofessional e-health oriented approaches can only be an example for steps leading into this direction. We, too, have to think about strengthening the competencies of families and of neighborhood in looking after elderly persons. This is not only true for rural, but also for urban settings. The search for solutions also includes the question of financing an elderly-oriented health care system, because someone has to pay the bill… At the latest at this point, it becomes clear that all parts of the society are involved to respond appropriately and humanly to the challenges of the aging society.

The 20^th International Congress of IARM contributes to the world-wide discussion about generational change. Describing the current situation is the starting point for promoting future concepts of country-specific measures adapting to the challenge of elderly people. Highly relevant topics to be discussed are:

-　the long-term effects of aging societies on the health care insurance systems
-　concepts for long-term care health insurance for elderly
-　country-specific preparations for elderly with dementia
-　country-specific views on the state of home health care for elderly

Experts from all over the world will present their experiences and research results on each of these topics. I also hope that the participants of this Congress will actively share their valuable views and contribute their findings to make this event an unique occasion for a fruitful and pioneering exchange of ideas.

My thanks go to the Japanese Association of Rural Medicine which is responsible for this important meeting. I congratulate the organizers for choosing the topic of aging societies as the main theme for the 20th International Congress of IARM and the 67th Annual Meeting of JARM and I wish them a grand success.

September, 2017

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