“In line with WHO predictions regarding the trend of increasing the number of elderly people in various countries in the world, Indonesia is one of the countries experiencing this trend,” said Indri Hapsari Susilowati, S.K.M., M.K.K.K., Ph.D., a Lecturer at the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (OHS) Faculty of Public Health (FPH) Universitas Indonesia (UI), became the keynote speaker at the 2023 MAHSA International Conference on Health Sciences and Technology (Mi-CHEST) on 26 May 2023 in Malaysia.
At the conference with the theme “Health Sciences for Better Health and Healthcare in the Elderly Population”, Dr. Indri delivered material with a title that was in line with the theme, “The Role of Public Health System for Successful Aging in Indonesia”. It is stated in the material that the number of elderly people in Indonesia will continue to grow over time. This increase has also created several health problems, including an increase in the spread of communicable and non-communicable diseases, nutritional status deficiencies, and the emergence of mental health problems in the elderly. Several national strategies in Indonesia in dealing with elderly health problems include improving nutritional status and a healthy lifestyle, expanding health services for the elderly, reducing morbidity among the elderly, and expanding the scope of long-term care services.
Furthermore, Dr. Indri also said that elderly health is also one of the focuses of research and innovation roadmap at UI in 2020-2024. FPH UI has also developed a Specialization in Elderly Health for graduate studies in 2020.
The role of the community in improving the quality of the elderly can be a leverage in improving the welfare of the nation and the state because the health and welfare of the elderly is one of the important things that must be considered. In accordance with the theme of National Elderly Day which is celebrated every May 29 which conveys that “Elderly Cared for, Indonesia with Dignity”.
Indri Hapsari Susilowati as Associate Professor in the OHS Department of FPH UI who is also carrying out the mandate as Manager of Cooperation, Alumni and Venture Relations of FPH UI and the Steering Committee for the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) Population Aging representing the Universitas Indonesia. Indri Hapsari graduated from the Faculty of Public Health, Universitas Indonesia as a Bachelor of Public Health in 1999 and a Master’s in Occupational Health and Safety in 2008. He holds a Ph.D. in Human Science Design from Kyushu University, Japan in 2012. (wrk)
