Aging & Society: Eighth Interdisciplinary Conference

Abstract

This colloquium addresses aging in modern Indonesia with a focus on current trends and their future impact in the context of Indonesia’s rapidly aging population. As the fourth largest population in the world, the aging population is already having a major impact on demographics and represents a serious challenge in the health and social services sectors. The first paper is entitled “Aging in Indonesia: Past and Present Trends and Future Prospects” and introduces an overview of the nature of Indonesia’s aging population, the issues faced by older persons, as well as families and institutions, and a discussion of the structural context of service provision and accommodations to population change. Additional papers presented include, “Falls and Trauma among Older Persons in Indonesia; Quality of Life among Older Indonesians,” “Work in Older Age in Indonesia,” and “Aging in an Institution in Indonesia.” These related papers address the broad situation in Indonesia with case studies deriving from the experience in the province of West Sumatra, which is at the forefront of population shift with more than 8% of the population aged over sixty, among the highest of the nation’s thirty-three provinces.