6.P. Scientific session: Innovative approaches for sustainable health and social care – evidence and implementation potential

Abstract All European countries are facing population ageing, with Finland being among the countries with the fastest growing population of older citizens. The resulting increased dependency ratio together with an expected increasing demand for health and social care is challenging the social and economic sustainability of countries’ health and care systems. Social sustainability refers to the ability of a health and care system to maintain or improve the health and well-being of a population, while also ensuring a fair distribution of resources. Financial sustainability refers to the affordability of health and care services in the long run. In responding to this challenge, several policy options have been suggested (e.g., Cylus, Figueras & Normand, 2019), which aim to reduce the demand for health and social care, intervene on their supply by improving the effectiveness and efficiency of services, or curb the growth of care expenditures. To support evidence-informed decision-making, the Finnish Strategic Research Council funded the SustAgeable project (SustAgeable), which aims to identify effective solutions that promote population health and well-being while securing social and financial sustainability of health and care systems. The objectives of this workshop are to: (1) increase our understanding of how ageing impacts on people's own resources to maintain well-being, and to what extent higher health and social care expenditures are inevitably linked to ageing; (2) provide evidence for suggested options to improve efficiency through digitalisation and integration of care; and (3) discuss the desirability and feasibility of implementing suggested options. These objectives will be achieved by four short presentations, followed by an interactive discussion with the audience about the suggested policy options, their evidence and potential for implementation in Europe. The added value of this workshop is that it approaches the challenge of population ageing for the sustainability of countries’ health and care systems from various angles and combines scientific evidence for suggested solutions with an interactive discussion on their implementation potential. In this way the workshop builds a bridge between science and policy. Format Four presentations (each 10 minutes): 1. Ageing and personal resources - is their evidence for loss spirals at older age? 2. Does ageing inevitably result in increased health and social care expenditures? 3. Can digital self-management tools and care integration contribute to sustainable health and care systems? 4. How implementable are suggested policy options according to Finnish policymakers and stakeholders? Followed by an interactive discussion with the audience, and a panellist who will reflect on the topic from a European/international perspective (Dr. Jonathan Cylus), on suggested policy options and their potential for implementation in Europe (20 minutes, moderated by the chairs and with all presenters on stage. Key messages • The increase of health service utilisation and related costs because of population ageing can be mitigated by policies that support senior citizens’ personal resources, healthy ageing and prevention. • To ensure sustainable health and care systems, evidence-informed policies are needed to reduce the demand for care as well as to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of services and care delivery.