International Institute on Ageing, UN Malta

RESEARCH

The Institute constantly reviews and reappraises the changing educational and training needs in the field of Ageing which are expected to evolve along with demographic changes and the development process. For this purpose, specific research and surveys will continue to be conducted and periodically updated.

In the past, research projects have been carried out among which a UNFPA funded research project on The Implications of the Ageing Population on the Support Systems for the Elderly in Urban and Rural China.

Following the research in China which was completed in 1994, agreements have been signed with various organisations in China for the training of Chinese officials from different provinces. Ever since, INIA has been training Chinese personnel working in different aspects of ageing through these courses which are held twice a year, one held in Malta and the other in China.

A study to assess the prevalence of Dementia across different countries and cultures was carried out on the initiative of the Research programme on Ageing of WHO based in Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.A.. Malta was one of the countries engaged in the study, with the particular advantage that it sample was representative of the entire elderly Malta population. Other countries were the USA, Spain, Chile, Nigeria and Canada. INIA conducted the Malta study.

It is the Institute's policy to establish a close link between its research and training programmes. Research projects undertaken by the Institute have a training component while training programmes rely on research.