Organized by the Near East University Faculty of Nursing, “2. National Sustainable Healthy Aging Symposium” was held at Near East University İrfan Günsel Congress Center. In the symposium held for the second time this year, elderly health was discussed with a multidisciplinary approach. In the symposium, which was open to the public and free of charge, topics such as cell aging, chronic diseases in old age, health services in the country and mental health in the elderly were discussed.

Six presentations were made in four sessions at the symposium, which was attended by intense participation. The opening speeches of the symposium were made by Near East University Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Meltem Nalça Andrieu and Near East University Faculty of Nursing Dean Prof. Dr. Ümran Dal Yılmaz.

‘Elderliness’ was discussed in every aspect!

In the first session of the “2. National Sustainable Healthy Aging Symposium”, Prof. Dr. Tamer Yilmaz made a presentation titled “Why Do We Age? Cell aging” and discussed the causes of aging with his. In the second session, Assist. Prof. Dr. Dilay Necipoğlu made a presentation titled “Common Chronic Diseases in Older Individuals and Their Management, Prevalence and Importance of Chronic Diseases in Old Age”, Assist. Prof. Dr. Ezgi Bağrıaçık spoke on “Respiratory Tract and Cardiovascular Diseases in Old Age”, Assist. Prof. Dr. Nida Aydın discussed the topics of “Comprehensive Geriatric Evaluation in Chronic Diseases”.

In the third session of the symposium, while Dr. Gülcem Sala Razı made a presentation titled “Mental Health in the Elderly”, Dr. Ayşe Aydındoğmuş made a presentation titled “Health Services for the Elderly in TRNC”.

Prof. Dr. Meltem Nalça Andrieu: “There are serious practices in Europe for home care of the elderly. Similar practices need to be widespread in our country.”

In his speech at the symposium, Near East University Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Meltem Nalça Andrieu spoke on the social, economic and psychological problems that occur with the increase in the aging population and emphasized that healthcare professionals and especially nurses work with great devotion in this process. Prof. Dr. Meltem Nalça Andrieu emphasized that measures are vital in areas such as health and social security.

Reminding that there are serious practices in Europe for home care of the elderly, Prof. Dr. Nalça Andrieu gave examples of these practices and said that similar practices should become widespread in the TRNC. Prof. Dr. Meltem Nalça Andrieu said, “In Europe, the homes or living spaces of the elderly are equipped so that they can access health care at any time. In addition, regular visit programs are carried out for meeting the needs of the elderly. These practices are not yet common in our country. I do hope we can see similar practices in our country in the future.”

Prof. Dr. Ümran Dal Yılmaz: “Nurses play an important role in the health services provided to the elderly.”

Near East University Faculty of Nursing Dean Prof. Dr. Ümran Dal Yılmaz in her opening speech said; “‘Elderly Week’ is an extremely important time to raise awareness about aging and health issues. In direct proportion to the increase rate of the elderly population, it is extremely important to raise awareness about aging and elderly health.”

Stating that factors such as increases in education and income levels around the world, changes in eating habits, understanding the importance of exercise and control of infectious diseases contribute to the extension of life expectancy, Prof. Dr. Ümran Dal Yılmaz said “The phenomenon of aging is more evident, especially in developed countries, and has now become more important for developing countries.” Stating that the elderly population is increasing in countries such as Türkiye and the TRNC, Prof. Dr. Ümran Dal Yılmaz said, “This situation also requires diversification of health services offered to the elderly. Nurses play an important role in the provision of these services. The comprehensive care provided together with other members of the team will increase the quality of health of the elderly and make it sustainable.”