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Marvin Formosa and Charles Scerri (eds),
Population Ageing in Malta: Multidisciplinary Perspectives
Malta University Press, Msida, Malta,
2015; 380pp 1,217 pp.
ISBN: 978-99909-45-79-9, (pbk). €35.00

This is certainly a book for our times. Not a day passes without media reference to the fact that Malta has an ageing population and to the manifold implications of this.

Population Ageing in Malta: Multidisciplinary Perspectives provides a broad overview of the many and diverse aspects that relate to population ageing. It does so under three main headings: ‘Gerontological Issues’, ‘Geriatric Concerns’ and ‘Later Life Care’.

The editors drew my admiration in their decision to invite contributions by authors from a range of disciplines, although at the risk of sounding parochial, I must admit that I would have liked to have seen a contribution from social work! As they rightly point out, although there is much local discussion on the value of multidisciplinary exchange there is little local literature which includes inter-academic collaboration on the subject of ageing and the experience of later life. This publication is certainly a bold attempt at addressing this gap. I must say that I found each of the 16 chapters and the editors’ contributions interesting in their own way. Some of what the authors wrote includes information we know, however, each provided a new take on situations which I found eye-opening.

Chapters 1 to 5, which fall under the heading of ‘Gerontological Issues’, address the themes of life course transitions and demographic trends, the link between retirement age and life expectancy with implications for equity, older workers, older women and their portrayal and hotspot approaches to ageing studies and understanding safety for older persons.

I found the broad view proposed in Chapter 1 insightful and the policy proposals of Chapter 2 well worthy of consideration. I could not but support the author’s plea for a comprehensive plan for the participation of older persons in employment in Chapter 3 and was touched by the handling of the issues that pertain to older women’s portrayal and the tyrannies we endure (Chapter 4).

Chapter 5, which reported of a study which focuses on the relationships between the incidence of crime and where older persons live, both as victims and offenders, drew my attention to the vulnerability of these groups.

Chapters 6 to 11, under the heading of ‘Geriatric Concerns’ consider diverse topics: the development of the speciality of geriatric medicine in Malta, gerontological nursing, dementia in Malta and professional development.

Chapter 9 focuses on older adults and state-funded home physio-therapy. Chapter 10 and 11 focus on cognitive function and psychological well-being and the future of geriatric mental health services. I found the frame which this section provided with its consideration of the past and the present a useful backdrop for the proposals which are made for the future, some of which require urgent action.

The ones I would certainly champion are the urgent need for more intensive community services for older persons (Chapter 6); the call for gerontological nurses to contribute to high quality interdisciplinary research studies (Chapter 7); the bid for multi-disciplinary educational programmes focusing on patient-centred dementia care and management (Chapter 8); the need for the Maltese Public Health Service to explore more innovative ways of service provision (Chapter 9); that more effort be made by healthcare professionals to develop more tailor-made approaches to each client taking into consideration cognitive abilities, family background and social context (Chapter 10) and the call for the creation of a Geriatric Mental Health Resource Team working on an interdisciplinary model which tests its own effectiveness on an ongoing basis.

Chapters 12 to 16 consider themes under ‘Later Life Care’. This section opens with a chapter which is aptly named ‘The travails of informal care’. Chapter 13 provides a useful overview of the services in place, highlighting the complex and multi-faceted challenges that Malta is facing in this respect. Chapter 14 considers long-term care and likewise gives an overview.

However, what I found most helpful was reference to the European Charter of the Rights and Responsibilities of Older People in Need of Long-term Care and Assistance which was developed by Age Platform Europe in 2010. I found it interesting that in discussing future challenges, Natalie Briffa Farrugia, Chief Executive Officer at CareMalta, chose to highlight the importance of rehabilitation services and the adoption of more advanced technologies to enhance the quality of care in the community.

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