Key points from article :
The Nuffield Council on Bioethics has released a report on "The future of ageing," which explores the role of biomedical research and technological innovation in addressing the needs of an ageing population. The report focuses on three areas: research into biological ageing, assistive technologies, and data-driven detection and diagnosis of age-related conditions. The report notes that these developments offer benefits but also raise ethical questions. The report proposes an ethical framework to guide research relating to ageing and makes 15 recommendations to policymakers, research funders, and others involved in shaping research. The recommendations aim to promote inclusivity, address ageism, and direct research towards addressing health and wellbeing inequalities in older age.
Summary of recommendations
1. everyone with influence over ageing research and innovation uses the ethical framework in the report to guide their thinking
2. cross-governmental strategy on ageing should be supported by a public intergenerational advisory forum
3. research funders, regulators, research ethics committees, and journals should all require meaningful collaboration with older adults to inform decisions
4. public research funders who support research in ageing should collaborate to support partnerships between research teams and public contributors
5. researchers should collect a minimum demographic dataset about their research participants
6. MHRA should consider mandating the inclusion of data from older research participants where new products will be
relevant to the older population
7. HRA and NIHR should identify and share examples of good practice in the inclusion of older adults
8. research funders should provide dedicated funding to support researchers and engagement practitioners in developing relationships with older adults
9. large-scale volunteer databases and cohort studies should ensure that the studies capture the breadth of diversity in the ageing process
10. commit to long-term joint funding of UK Ageing Networks;
11. public and charitable funding for research on ageing in the UK should be based explicitly on a public health, lifecourse approach to ageing
12. develop accredited standards for promoting ethical research practices for technologies designed to support people to live well in older age
13. research funders should take active steps to promote closer working between researchers, and those directly involved in providing services for older people.
14. any new screening or testing programmes associated with age-related conditions should only be rolled out if accompanied by services and support for people who receive diagnoses
