Unlocking the WHO’s Age-Friendly Healthcare Principles: Portugal’s Quest and Recommendations

Abstract

Countries worldwide are grappling with a pressing demographic challenge characterized by a growing older population. This poses a significant healthcare dilemma, presenting challenges for healthcare systems and providers. To address these challenges, the World Health Organization (WHO) has devised a set of Age-Friendly Principles, aimed at optimizing healthcare provision for older people. This article delves into the current state of healthcare adaptation for older adults in Portugal and assesses the implementation of the WHO Principles. Case studies were conducted in three distinct regions of Portugal, involving semistructured interviews with key decision makers from both the healthcare sector and organizations wielding direct influence over health policies (n = 11). A comprehensive content analysis was conducted employing the webQDA software. The findings unveiled a noteworthy trend in which most interviewees displayed limited familiarity with the WHO Principles. Nevertheless, all interviewees acknowledged the need to adapt the healthcare system accordingly. Strengths were identified, primarily within the healthcare management system, but noteworthy gaps were also revealed, particularly in terms of facility preparedness and professional training. Interviewees proposed various interventions to enhance age-friendly healthcare provision; however, they concurrently pinpointed challenges related to human resources, infrastructure, and financial management. In their concluding recommendations, interviewees underscored the development of tools to facilitate the application and evaluation of the WHO Principles, as well as the development by the WHO of an accreditation system to encourage the application of the principles in healthcare providers across the world.