Research in the health, treatment and well-being of the oldest old

28 June 2018

How can treatment be improved in the last years of our life? Should we change our preconceptions about the well-being of today's oldest old?

The Danish Aging Research Center (DARC) at the Department of Public Health of the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) conducts research in human aging, focusing on the oldest old (90+ years).

Professor and Head of the Centre Kaare Christensen, University of Southern Denmark (SDU), receives DKK 10 million from VELUX FONDEN for a five-year project. The project will be conducted in a collaboration with Professor Jens Søndergaard and Professor Frans Boch Waldorff from the Research Unit for General Practice, and Professor Peter Simonsen and Professor Anne-Marie Mai from the Department for the Study of Culture, all from SDU.

The three research environments will collect new knowledge about the health, treatment and well-being of the oldest old age groups.

A significant and important group

"We now continue our work in a new and exciting direction. Today, more than 40,000 people are already 90+ years old, so they represent a significant and large group that should not be overlooked. We need to know about their needs, to give them the best possible overall treatment. Therefore, there are many good reasons to care for the oldest old, so now we gather forces within research into public health sciences, general medicine and science of literature. This is done in an effort to gain more knowledge that hopefully will benefit the elderly now and in the future," explains Kaare Christensen.

"The grant supports the comprehensive and reliable work by DARC. In addition to increased interdisciplinarity in the field of health sciences, the project will contribute results and knowledge that both the community and the elderly can benefit from," says Executive Director Ane Hendriksen, VELUX FONDEN.