Healthy Ageing Workshop

TIME

9:45 – 10:00

Arrival and registration

10:00 – 10:15

WELCOME AND OPENING REMARKS

John Piggott, Director, CEPAR, UNSW Sydney

10:15 – 11:00

KEYNOTE: SETTING THE SCENE

Chair: John Piggott, Director, CEPAR, UNSW Sydney

Healthy Ageing: More than the Absence of Disease

John Beard, Director, International Longevity Center, Columbia University

SHAPING HEALTHY AGEING

Chair: Patricia Davidson, Co-Director, UNSW ICFHS

Intrinsic Capacity and Healthy Ageing: Cross-Country Patterns and Cohort Trends

Katja Hanewald, Associate Professor, UNSW Business School

How Changes in Mortality, Functional Ability, and Work Expectancy Differ by Area Socioeconomic Status in Australia

Rafal Chomik, Senior Research Fellow, UNSW ICFHS

12:30 – 13:15

PANEL SESSION: HEALTH SYSTEM RESPONSES

Chair: John Piggott, Director, CEPAR, UNSW Sydney

Kaarin Anstey, Scientia Professor, Director, UNSW Ageing Futures Institute

John Beard, Director, ILC, Columbia University

Julie Byles, Emeritus Professor, University of Newcastle

13:15

CLOSING REMARKS

Patricia Davidson, Co-Director, UNSW ICFHS

BIOGRAPHIES AND ABSTRACTS

JOHN BEARD is Irene Diamond Professor and Director of the International Longevity Center USA at Columbia University, New York.  He was previously Director of Ageing and Life Course with the World Health Organization where he led major global initiatives including the World report on ageing and health, the Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE) program and the Global Network of Age-friendly Cities and Communities which now covers over 300 million people. He has worked extensively with the World Economic Forum including as chair of their Global Agenda Council on Population Ageing, and was a commissioner with the recent US National Academy of Medicine Commission on Healthy Longevity. His research frames health from the perspective of functioning rather than disease, and he applies this approach to aging-related issues ranging from biological drivers through to societal implications.  He was previously a Professorial Fellow with CEPAR at UNSW.

Title: Healthy Ageing - More than the Absence of Disease

Abstract: In 2015, the World Health Organisation introduced a new framework for healthy ageing with a deceptively simple but powerful focus: the ability of older people to do and be the things they value. Originally conceived as a tool to guide policy responses to population ageing, this framework now underpins the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing (2020–2030) and has shaped policy in countries around the world.  Yet its true potential is only beginning to be realized. By shifting focus away from disease and toward the preservation and enhancement of functional ability, the framework offers a radically transformative lens through which to view health. When coupled with emerging insights into the biology of ageing, unprecedented access to data, and the growing power of artificial intelligence to decode complex systems, we are on the brink of a major paradigm shift. This shift has profound implications—not only for researchers and healthcare providers, but also for economists, policymakers, and individuals navigating their own ageing journeys. Embracing this approach could fundamentally reshape how societies understand and respond to ageing in the 21st century.

KATJA HANEWALD is an Associate Professor in the UNSW School of Risk and Actuarial Studies and a Vice President of the Asia-Pacific Risk and Insurance Association (APRIA). Her research focuses on longevity, healthy ageing trends and insurance strategies for ageing populations. She has published in leading journals in insurance, actuarial science, economics, and health. Katja is a Co-Editor of the North American Actuarial Journal, an Editor of the Journal of Pension Economics and Finance, and an Editorial Board Member of the Journal of Risk and Insurance and the ASTIN Bulletin.

Title: Intrinsic Capacity and Healthy Ageing: Cross-Country Patterns and Cohort Trends

Abstract: Intrinsic capacity (IC), defined by the World Health Organization as the composite of all the physical and mental capacities of an individual, is a central construct in understanding healthy ageing. This talk presents findings from two studies using harmonised data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE).  The first validates IC across 15 countries, constructs population centile curves, and documents substantial socioeconomic variation in IC within and between countries. The second examines cohort trends from 2004 to 2022 in ten countries, showing that later-born cohorts enter older age with higher IC and slower decline. These results illustrate the potential of IC to inform the monitoring of ageing trajectories and the design of equitable health and ageing policies.

RAFAL CHOMIK is a Senior Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the International Centre for Future Health Systems (ICFHS), a cross-faculty research centre at UNSW Sydney. He has worked as an economic advisor for the British Government, an economist at the OECD, and a consultant for UNESCAP, World Bank, APEC, and the Asian Development Bank. He specialises in social policy design, demographic modelling, household surveys, health and economic inequality, and, recently, health system analysis. He has spent the last decade working at the ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR) as the Centre’s lead on research translation, producing and promoting policy-related briefing papers for policymakers, practitioners, and the media.

Title: How changes in mortality, functional ability, and work expectancy differ by area socioeconomic status in Australia

Abstract: It is well established that the rich are typically healthier and live longer than the poor, in what is known as the social gradient in health. But as life expectancies increase, working lives extend, and populations age, how are these gradients changing? This presentation will present findings on two decades of Australian mortality, disability, and employment trends by area socioeconomic status, making use a death-registry- and Census-derived dataset. The findings suggest that the social gradients of life and disability-free life expectancy are continuing to steepen. In addition, the lack of improvements in disability-free life expectancy among poor women and in the employment environment for poor men means that the length of healthy retirements is declining as is the potential prospect of extending working lives for these groups. Overall, the findings suggests that even in a country with a relatively efficient healthcare system, robust social safety net, and increasing lifespans, the trends related to life, health, work, and retirement are increasingly favouring more advantaged groups.

KAARIN ANSTEY is a Scientia Professor and an ARC Laureate Fellow and Director of the UNSW Ageing Futures  Institute. She is also a conjoint Senior Principal Research Scientist at Neuroscience Research Australia. From 2017 to 2024, Anstey was Deputy Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research. From 2010 to 2021, Anstey was Director of the Dementia Collaborative Research Centre. In  2017, she established the International Research Network on Dementia Prevention.

Anstey’s research programs focus on cognitive resilience, cognitive ageing, dementia epidemiology and dementia prevention. A second focus of her work is on older driver safety and in this field Anstey has also developed and validated risk assessment tools and interventions.

Anstey has held advisory roles with the World Health Organisation since 2016 and is a member of the Guideline Development Group for the WHO dementia risk reduction Guidelines. She is also a member of the Guideline Development Group for the NHMRC Clinical Practice Guidelines on Dementia. Anstey is currently the Chair of the AIHW Expert Advisory Committee on the Burden of Neurological Diseases, and is an Expert Advisor on Dementia for AIHW. She a member of the World Dementia Council and is Vice Chair of the Global Council on Brain Health.

JULIE BYLES (AO BMed PhD FAAHMS) is an Honorary Professor at the University of Newcastle. Julie has held local, national, and international roles in the International Clinical Epidemiology Network, the International Gerontology and Geriatrics Association, the International Longevity Centres Global Alliance (currently co-President), and has worked with the World Health Organization in various advisory roles. She is a Focal Point for the WHO Global Network of Age Friendly Cities and Communities ILC GA Affiliate. Julie is a Fellow and Life Member of the Australian Association of Gerontology and was National President from 2011-2013. She is also a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Science. As a clinical epidemiologist, Julie’s interests are in risk determination, health assessment, other health care evaluation, and measurement of health outcomes. As a Gerontologist her interests in ageing include the role of health and long term care services, preventive activities, and treatments in maintaining quality of life for older people. She is currently serving on the Lancet Commission for Long-term Care. In her “retirement” Julie wanted to increase her engagement with the local community, so she took on the lead of the Hunter Ageing Alliance. She was named the City of Newcastle’s Senior Citizen of the Year for 2024, and she serves on the Newcastle Liveable Cities Advisory Committee for 2025.

PATRICIA DAVIDSON (RN PhD GAICD) is currently a Vice Chancellor’s Fellow at UNSW, Sydney, and is the Co-Director of the International Centre for Future Health Systems. She has been a registered nurse for four decades, and has clinical, teaching, and practice expertise in cardiovascular science and the care of at risk populations, particularly those with chronic and complex conditions. She has ser ed as the Secretary General of the Secretariat of the World Health Organizations Collaborating Centers for Nursing and Midwifery, and Counsel General of the International Council on Women's Health Issues. She had leadership awards including Vice Chancellor and President of the University of Wollongong and Dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing in Baltimore, United States. In 2021 she was the recipient of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health Distinguished Leader and the Award Advance Awards winner in the Education and Research category.  Professor Davidson is chair of the NSW International Education Advisory Board and has extensive experience in forging mutually beneficial partnerships internationally.

JOHN PIGGOTT (AO FASSA) is Director of the Centre for Population Ageing Research (CEPAR) at UNSW, where he is Scientia Professor of Economics. A former Australian Professorial Fellow, he has published widely on issues in retirement and pension economics and finance; and in public finance more generally; his research has appeared in the leading international economics and actuarial academic journals. John has spent decades advising Australian governments and those overseas on pension and population ageing issues. He has a broad international profile having been a Visiting Scholar at the Wharton School of Business, a Rockefeller Residency award recepient, a co-chair of a Task Force on Aging Population during Japan’s G20 Presidency, a Commissioner on the US National Academy of Medicine’s International Commission on Healthy Longevity, and co-founder of the International Pension Research Association. At a national level, he was a member of both the Henry Tax Review and the Australian Ministerial Superannuation Advisory Committee. At UNSW Sydney, John served terms as Head of School of Economics, Associate Dean Research, Interim Dean of the Faculty, and a member of the University Council. In 2020, he was the recipient of the UNSW Business School’s Staff Excellence Global Impact Award.