- Training healthcare professionals from Egypt, Jordan, and Pakistan on Qatar’s evidence-based model for implementing the Integrated Care Programme for Older Persons.
- Qatar hosts the first WHO Collaborating Centre in the region dedicated to healthy ageing and dementia care.
The Ministry of Public Health recently organised the Regional Forum for Capacity Building for the Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE) programme. The Ministry organised the programme in collaboration with the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean and the WHO Collaborating Centre for Healthy Ageing and Dementia at Hamad Medical Corporation.
The forum was dedicated to training a number of specialised healthcare professionals from the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Kingdom of Jordan, and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on integrated care for older persons, as part of the WHO Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021–2030).
The forum aimed to strengthen countries’ capacities to integrate care for older persons at the level of primary healthcare, through implementing early screening and comprehensive assessment to detect any decline in intrinsic capacity, and developing individual care plans centred on their needs. This contributes to ensuring that intrinsic capacity and quality of life remain at the heart of ageing policies across the region.
A multidisciplinary team participated in the forum, comprising doctors, nurses, and social workers, to promote healthy ageing and quality of life. The participants received practical training on Qatar’s evidence-based model for implementing the Integrated Care Programme for Older Persons, which has demonstrated strong positive outcomes across all domains of intrinsic capacity, including cognition, mobility, nutrition, vision, hearing, social and family support, and mental health for older persons and their families.
Field visits were also organised for the forum participants to observe Qatar’s experience, where the national performance of the Integrated Care Programme for Older Persons in the State of Qatar demonstrates high referral completion rates, improved follow-up outcomes, and strengthened continuity of care, supported by multidisciplinary intervention pathways.
“The regional forum contributes to strengthening Qatar’s efforts to support the capacities of countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Region in the field of integrated care for older persons, in collaboration with the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean. The Integrated Care Programme for Older Persons in Qatar has proven that systematic assessment of older persons and linking them to timely therapeutic and service interventions through specialised clinics and recovery clinics helps achieve tangible improvements in health and quality of life.”
Dr Hanadi Al Hamad, Head of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Healthy Ageing at Hamad Medical Corporation.
She added: “As the State of Qatar hosts the first WHO Collaborating Centre in the region for healthy ageing and dementia care, it supports the development of evidence-based care pathways in countries across the region and the establishment of sustainable platforms for capacity building in integrated care for older persons.”
Dr Riana Bouhaqa, WHO Representative in the State of Qatar, noted that the forum reflects the ongoing commitment of the State of Qatar, the Ministry of Public Health, and the WHO Collaborating Centre to supporting the Organisation’s efforts in capacity building and knowledge exchange across the region.
It is worth mentioning that this forum is the second to be organised in collaboration with the WHO Collaborating Centre for Healthy Ageing and Dementia at Hamad Medical Corporation, following the success of the first forum held last year, which was dedicated to training healthcare professionals from the Republic of Iraq.
It is also noteworthy that the World Health Organization has designated the Geriatrics and Long Term Care Department at Rumailah Hospital, part of Hamad Medical Corporation, as a WHO Collaborating Centre for Healthy Ageing and Dementia. This initiative is designed to launch key projects and programmes in integrated care for older persons, enable information exchange, develop technical cooperation among relevant international institutions, and facilitate optimal access to funding for research and development programmes in this field. The centre is one of four WHO Collaborating Centres in the State of Qatar.
Source: MoPH
