On February 18, 2022, Artisan Group announced the launch of its groundbreaking platform, “Integrated Healthcare Initiative: Preventive Medicine, Immunity, and Frailty Prevention,” (the “Initiative”). The Initiative was launched via a sub-committee of ‘First Wednesday ( https://fw-globalmanagement-en.com )’.
With the aim of creating a community where the more you age, the happier you get, the Initiative will create a framework for sharing innovative ideas to help solve the problems faced by an ageing population. The aim is to enhance solutions currently provided under the national framework. Members of the Initiative will include managers, executives and researchers who are committed and passionate about solving these issues.
At the launch, Artisan Group’s CEO, Mr. Nobu Kishi, stated: “We are extremely excited by the Initiative, which will no doubt be transformative in improving the lives of many of our loved ones. The first session will be in April 2022 and the focus will be on pre-disease, immunity and frailty prevention. The conversations will be multifaceted, drawing on the collective experience of across several countries and industries.
Active seniors are often isolated from their communities when they retire, and this has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a significant problem facing several countries, including Japan, and we need to do more to help those in need.”
About the Initiative
In 2025, the baby-boom generation in Japan will reach the age of 75. As the birthrate declines and the population grows increasingly elderly, there are major concerns surrounding the collapse of Japan’s healthcare system and the associated potential decline in quality of life.
Extending the healthy life expectancy of the elderly population will prove vital in controlling increasingly rising healthcare costs and sustaining the quality of life of the ageing population. The current approach taken by most countries is reactive, whereby help is only provided to the elderly once they have developed problems. A pre-emptive approach through pre-disease and frailty prevention, preventing elderly people from developing lifestyle-related diseases and becoming vulnerable, would be more cost-effective, Artisan Group argue. Whilst the elderly are becoming more attuned to living healthier lifestyles, many are not aware of specific measures to prevent frailty, and this awareness is required to bring about a wider behavioral change. In addition, where pre-disease and frailty prevention measures have been explored in the past, the research has mainly focused on nutrition and exercise, as opposed to social and psychological aspects.
Overseas collaboration between foreign industry and academia is perhaps more advanced than in Japan. This provides Japan with a great opportunity to leverage on insights gained overseas, as a cross-industry, cross-specialty, cross-national and holistic approach is required for the prevention of pre-disease and frailty in active seniors, particularly in Japan.
