3 - Aging and Health in India: A Longitudinal Study and an Experimental Platform

项目摘要/摘要 项目3--印度的老龄化与健康：纵向研究和实验平台 在接下来的一年里，全世界老年人口所占比例预计将大幅增加 几十年了。这一变化预计将在印度尤为显著，因为印度的个人人口 60岁及以上人口预计将从2015年的8.9%攀升至2050年的19.4%。在印度，正如 在其他地方，这种重大的人口结构变化将带来一系列新的健康和福利挑战，尤其是： (1)糖尿病和高血压等非传染性疾病患病率增加；(2)改变 在家庭结构和支助系统中，使老年人口越来越多地独居和 自给自足，以及(3)由于包括(1)和(2)在内的许多因素而减少了财务保障。 政策制定者和政府需要更多关于老年人健康和福祉趋势的数据 为了做出有效的政策决策，我们需要更多的人力和财力。在提案中，我们强调了我们计划如何利用 J-PAL南亚和泰米尔纳德邦政府之间独特的合作伙伴关系，以开展大型、高质量的 以HRS和WHO的SAGE为蓝本的对该州老年人的高质量小组健康调查。 我们将与泰米尔纳德邦政府密切合作，为设计和监督所有方面提供建议和监督 实施调查；不过，政府将为调查提供全额资金，并自行开展调查。 收集的数据将立即对泰米尔纳德邦政府更好地了解需求有用 以创建以证据为基础的政策，但它也将为我们提供一个独特的 有机会建设能力，并开展一系列研究实验，为一系列广泛的政策提供信息。 关于改善老年人健康和福祉的干预措施的证据令人震惊 稀疏。我们建议将纵向小组作为包括我们自己在内的研究人员进行 对样本的子集进行随机化评估。在这里，我们提出了两个具体的干预措施：(1)家庭 探访长者以评估健康和福祉；及(2)老年退休金的申请支援 程序。这两种干预措施都将对文献做出重大贡献，并且很容易扩展。我们是 不知道在发展中国家对老年人进行定期家访的任何干预措施。 此外，发达国家对老年人家访的评价结果喜忧参半。而当 有一些关于非缴费养老金的影响的证据，这项研究在很大程度上是非 试验性的。因此，我们的干预将是关于获得养老金影响的第一个实验性研究 关于老年人的健康和认知，并有助于更广泛地了解这些工具 可用于支持老龄化人口的健康。

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Project 3 – Aging and Health in India: A Longitudinal Study and an Experimental Platform Throughout the world, the elderly share of the population is projected to increase dramatically over the next several decades. This change is expected to be particularly dramatic in India, as the population of individuals 60 years and older is expected to climb from 8.9 percent in 2015 to 19.4 percent in 2050. In India, as elsewhere, this significant demographic shift will pose a new set of health and welfare challenges, particularly: (1) an increased prevalence of non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension, (2) a change in family structures and support systems that leave the elderly population increasingly living alone and supporting themselves, and (3) a reduction in financial security due to numerous factors including (1) and (2). Policy-makers and governments need more data on the health and wellbeing trends within the elderly population in order to make effective policy decisions. In the proposal, we highlight how we plan to leverage the unique partnership between J-PAL South Asia and the government of Tamil Nadu to conduct a large, high- quality panel health survey of the elderly within the state that is modeled on the HRS and the WHO's SAGE. We will work closely with the government of Tamil Nadu to advise and oversee all aspects of the design and implementation of the survey; however, the government will fully fund and conduct the surveys themselves. The data collected will be immediately useful for the government of Tamil Nadu to better understand the needs of its aging population in order to create evidence-based policy, but it will also provide us with a unique opportunity to build capacity and to field a set of research experiments that can inform a wide set of policies. Evidence regarding interventions that work to improve the health and wellbeing of the elderly is strikingly sparse. We propose using the longitudinal panel as a platform for researchers, including ourselves, to conduct randomized evaluations on a subset of the sample. Here, we propose two specific interventions: (1) home visits for the elderly to assess health and wellbeing, and (2) application support for the old age pension program. Both interventions will contribute significantly to the literature and are easily scalable. We are unaware of any interventions using regular home visits to the elderly in the context of a developing country. Furthermore, evaluations of home visits to the elderly in developed countries have had mixed results. While there is some evidence regarding the impact of non-contributory pensions, this research has been largely non- experimental. Our intervention would thus be the first experimental study on the impact of obtaining a pension on the health and cognition of the elderly, and could contribute to a broader understanding of the tools available to support the health of aging populations.