Strategy for Deployment of Integrated Healthy Aging Regions Based Upon an Evidence-Based Regional Ecosystem-The Styria Model

Interactions Between EIP on AHA Reference Sites and Action Groups to Foster Digital Innovation of Health and Care in European Regions

The article describes some of the achievements of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP on AHA), after eight years in operation. These results were achieved thanks to the collaborative work of the action groups (AGs) and reference sites (RSs). RS regional ecosystems include key organisations committed to investing in innovation to foster active and healthy ageing. The AGs are groups of professionals committed to sharing their knowledge and skills in active and healthy ageing. This article reports on the approach used by the EIP on AHA to bring together experts and regions in identifying and addressing these challenges. Synergies between AGs offered substantial support to RSs, allowing regional health and care priorities and challenges to be identified and pursued through AG commitments. Building upon the experiences of the EIP on AHA, the Reference Sites Collaborative Network has set up a number of thematic action groups that bring together multidisciplinary experts from across Europe to address the main health and social care challenges at regional, national and European level.

"One Health" Approach for Health Innovation and Active Aging in Campania (Italy)

This article describes how innovations are exploited in Campania (Italy) to improve health outcomes, quality of life, and sustainability of social and healthcare services. Campania's strategy for digitalization of health and care and for healthy aging is based on a person-centered, life-course, “One Health” approach, where demographic change is considered capable of stimulating a growth dynamic linked to the opportunities of combining the “Silver Economy” with local assets and the specific health needs of the population. The end-users (citizens, patients, and professionals) contribute to the co-creation of products and services, being involved in the identification of unmet needs and test-bed activity. The Campania Reference Site of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Aging is a flexible regional ecosystem to address the challenge of an aging population with a life-course approach. The good practices, developed in the context of research and innovation projects and innovative procurements by local stakeholders and collaborations with international networks, have been allowing the transfer of innovative solutions, knowledge, and skills to the stakeholders of such a multi-sectoral ecosystem for health.

Development of a Binational Framework for Active and Healthy Ageing (AHA) Bridging Austria and Slovenia in a Thermal Spa Region

In view of ongoing demographic developments resulting in a longer life expectancy of the European population, the creation of “age-friendly” environments represents an initiative picked up by the European Union and its Member States to enable active and healthy ageing. The present study aims at the co-creation of a cross-border framework model to deploy a healthy ageing region linking Austria and Slovenia, building on previous work dealing with the development of an integrated regional ecosystem for active and healthy ageing. A qualitative, community-based action research method based on focus group discussions allowed the development of an exemplary framework model for active and healthy ageing building on cross-border collaboration in the region of Promura. Within the project group, twelve cross-border regional key assets were identified. In the course of further open discussions, an exemplary model for the deployment of a cross-border healthy ageing region was developed, comprising underlying fundamental environmental aspects, regional structures in the field of health and care as well as crosscutting features spreading across all levels. This article presents a promising, strategic co-creation approach on how to span a model on active and healthy ageing across two cross-border regions with similar characteristics and assets.