Special interest groups

The Ageing in the Asia-Oceania SIG promotes collaboration between researchers, educators, practitioners, policy-makers and other professionals.

A particular focus of the Ageing in the Asia-Oceania SIG is promoting connections with other member individuals and organisations of the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (IAGG) Asia-Oceania region.

The main objectives of the Ageing in the Asia-Oceania SIG are to:

• Facilitate exchanges between AAG members with an interest in ageing in the Asia-Oceania region
• Promote collaboration between individual AAG members and members of other organisations within the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (IAGG) Asia-Oceania region
• Enhance the role of AAG in the region through liaison with national organisations within the IAGG Asia-Oceania Region.

The convenors of this SIG are Professor Julie Byles and Professor Keith Hill.

The AAG Board approved the establishment of the Ageing, Workforce and Education SIG (AWESIG) in December 2016. Members' interests range across a broadly encompassing and integrated focus on education and capacity building for a workforce appropriate to the needs of our ageing population.

The purpose of AWESIG is to:

• Engage with research, policy, planning and implementation for the development and resourcing of a comprehensive health and aged care workforce, building capability to meet the diverse health and social needs of our ageing population
• Seek to work with a range of key stakeholders to advance the development of a highly skilled and well-resourced health and aged care workforce for older Australians
• Engage with research and policy aiming to expand opportunities for workforce participation amongst older Australians

AWESIG has led the development of a range of AAG submissions on workforce issues, including:

• 2017 and 2018 AAG submissions to the Aged Care Workforce Strategy Taskforce (ACWST)
• 2016 AAG submissions in response to the Parliamentary Inquiry into the future of Australia's aged care sector workforce.

This emerging group of researchers, educators and practitioners warmly welcomes any other AAG members who would like to join us in developing the Ageing, Workforce & Education SIG.

The convenors of AWESIG are Dr Sabrina Pit and Assoc Prof Katrina Radford.

AAG Assistive Technology Special Interest Group (TECHSIG) was developed in response to requests from our collaborators, including the Australian Government, for AAG experts on assistive technology. TECHSIG was approved by the AAG Board on 26 February 2020.

Assistive technology is a term used to describe the products and services which enable individuals’ functioning and participation and is the term used by the National Disability Insurance Scheme and ANZ/ISO classification system (see National Aged Care Alliance 2018 Position Paper: Assistive Technology for Older Australians). They can be used in community either for an individual or in group care setting. For our purposes, the most inclusive definition of assistive technology is adopted, which includes:

• Manual technologies, aids and equipment (e.g. walking frames, grips, rails, adaptors, holders, chair-beds designed for individual needs, orthotic devices, hearing and visual aids)
• Electronic aids and equipment (e.g. hoists, mobile apps, watches, talking alarms, automated pill boxes, home monitoring devices, GPS location/tracking devices)
• Robotics (e.g. assistive robots such as lifting or medicine delivery robots, enabling robots such as exoskeletons to enable walking or social robots which help create conversation between persons, replacement robots such as social companion robots, and service robots which assist in health monitoring, surveillance and security, and fall and gait detection)
• Digital health technologies applied at the organisational and/or individual level (e.g. smart home technologies, telehealth, monitoring systems, blockchain-enabled electronic health records, and other communication aids/virtual assistants)
• Any service that directly assists an individual in the selection, acquisition, or use of an assistive solution.

Assistive Technology is recognised by the WHO as a critical issue for equity, including for people with long term health conditions such as diabetes, stroke, and dementia. Their projection is that “(w)ith an ageing global population and a rise in noncommunicable diseases, an estimated 3.5 billion people will need assistive technology by 2050”.

Evidence-based design, adoption, and use of these technologies is vital to the management of health conditions and supporting independence and wellbeing for people living with health conditions.

The purpose of TECHSIG is to:

• Provide advice to inform AAG’s advocacy and policy positions in relation to the diverse assistive technology needs and opportunities to improve the ageing experience
• Engage with key stakeholders and alliances to advance the development, implementation, uptake and ongoing support of assistive technology to improve the ageing experience
• Facilitate opportunities for knowledge sharing and collaboration between researchers, developers/designers, practitioners, peak bodies, consumer advocates and service providers with respect to assistive technology and how it can be used to assist in and improve the ageing experience
• Identify future assistive technology research directions to improve the ageing experience, through the intersection of researchers, developers/designers, practitioners, peak bodies, consumer advocates and service providers.

The co-convenors of TECHSIG are Dr Reena Tewari and Dmitry Shibanov. 

The need to address and combat ageism has never been more critical.  Ageism is defined by the World Health Organisation as the “stereotypes (how we think), prejudice (how we feel) and discrimination (how we act) towards others or ourselves based on age”. Ageism and age discrimination are a significant public health issue, with direct implications for health outcomes including the development of chronic physical and mental health conditions. The outcomes of ageism are extremely serious for both individuals and society, given its associations with early death, financial instability, poor quality of life and billions of dollars in preventable health system burden1. Yet despite this, ageism remains one of the most hidden and widely tolerated forms of prejudice.

The Challenging Ageism SIG (CHALAGEISMSIG)

• promotes and facilitates discussion and collaboration among AAG members interested in raising awareness and challenging ageism;
• provides advice and expertise to inform AAG’s policy and advocacy work relating to ageism and inclusion;
• highlights issues of intersectionality across various forms of discrimination and prejudice; and
• promotes cross-disciplinary knowledge sharing and collaboration to advance anti-ageism research, policy, and practice initiatives.

Membership of our SIGs is open to current financial AAG members only.

The convenors of CHALAGEISMSIG are A/Prof Rachel Ambagtsheer and Keryn Curtis.

1 World Health Organization, op cit, Chang et al 2020 

The Creativity, Art, and Design (CAD) in Ageing Special Interest Group (CADSIG) was established in 2023. CADSIG facilitates collaboration and connections to enhance our understanding, adoption and evaluation of creativity, art and design in ageing.

CADSIG's five key goals are to:

• Demonstrate the value of creative arts engagement (visual, performing, and digital, for example, music, singing, theatre, visual arts, dance etc) for older people’s health and wellbeing, with a focus on disabilities, dementia, and residential aged care
• Share how design and arts-based methods can be used in ageing research, from data collection, analysis to engagement and dissemination
• Use art to change conversations, confronting and disrupting stereotypes about age and ageing
• Understand the transformative and therapeutic nature that lies behind CAD work and interventions
• Foster collaboration, information, and resource-sharing in creativity, art, and design in ageing through co-design principles.

CADSIG is committed to identifying, amplifying, and leveraging the potential of creativity, art, and design (participating, performing, creating, and making) to positively transform the experience of ageing. It is closely aligned with AAG's purpose and priorities, which emphasises the importance of a multi-disciplinary approach to ageing, and a collaborative, partnership approach. Through this SIG, AAG has taken the opportunity to be a thought leader in this space, amplifying the value and impact of arts in ageing.

The convenor of CADSIG is Dr Tricia King.

The built environment is critical to the independence, health, and quality of life of older Australians. For example, many elements of the built environment are associated with physical health, mental health, cognitive function, and social participation. This can be central to outcomes for individuals; for example, housing insecurity and homelessness have a two-way relationship with a range of physical and mental health conditions. 1 2 3 Attention to the built environment, including individual housing, is therefore vital to a whole-of-system approach to health and wellbeing, including the prevention and management of diseases and health conditions. 

The purpose of the HBESIG is to:

• Facilitate opportunity for exchange and collaboration between researchers, practitioners and service providers with an interest in housing and built environment research and practice
• Share knowledge, expertise, and interest in housing and built environment research and practice
• Identify future housing and built environment research directions, through the intersection of service providers, practitioners and researchers
• Provide advice to inform AAG’s advocacy position in relation to the diverse housing needs and desires of older Australians; and the impact of the built environment on the independence, health, wellbeing and quality of life of older Australians.

The convenors of the HBESIG are Dr Claudia Meyer and Dmitry Shibanov. 

[1] Suh, K., Beck, J., Katzman, W., & Allen, D. D. (2020). Homelessness and rates of physical dysfunctions characteristic of premature geriatric syndromes: systematic review and meta-analysis. Physiotherapy Theory and Practice, 38(7), 858–867. https://doi.org/10.1080/09593985.2020.1809045
[2] Brackertz, N., Wilkinson, A. and Davison, D. (2018) Housing, homelessness and mental health: towards systems change, Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, Melbourne, https://www.ahuri.edu.au/housing/trajectories/Housing-homelessness-and-mental-health-towards-systems-change
[3] Australian Association of Gerontology (2018) Background Paper. Older women experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness. Melbourne.

AAG formed a special interest group (SIG) to address the unique and special needs of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) older Australians in November 2012, as AAG members worked with the government in developing the National LGBTI Ageing and Aged Care Strategy.

The group brings together expertise in LGBTI ageing from across AAG’s membership and hosts forums to discuss and promote issues of ageing for LGBTI older people, with the aim of optimising the ageing experience for older people of diverse sexuality, sex and gender.

There is a members only online forum created by the LGBTI members. This online forum provides members an opportunity to share information, resources and events with others in this group.

Please note: When using the acronym LGBTI we are using the language that is known within the ageing and aged care sector. We recognise and acknowledge that there are people of diverse relationships, bodies, sexualities and genders that are not reflected within this acronym.

The convenor of the LGBTI SIG is Dominique Saunders.

The AAG Board approved the establishment of a Regional, Rural and Remote AAG Special Interest Group (RRRSIG) in September 2016. Here are a few words from Dr Rachel Winterton, the group’s inaugural and current convenor:

'As the inaugural convenor, I am pleased to announce the recent establishment of the Regional, Rural and Remote Special Interest Group (RRRSIG). At AAG 2015 conference in Alice Springs, it was evident that there were many AAG members undertaking innovative, high quality research within rural, regional and remote settings, and this SIG has been developed to draw these researchers along with service providers in aged care, health and allied health to make a difference.'

The purpose of RRRSIG is to provide a platform for the discussion, development and promotion of regional, rural and remote ageing research and practice in Australasia. We hope this will lead to increased opportunities for information sharing and collaboration. 

The convenor of RRRSIG is A/ Prof Rachel Winterton.

This group has been established to give voice to our older members - individuals whose lived experience and professional wisdom span decades of commitment to advancing the field of ageing.

The OMG is a platform for advice, collaboration and contribution across AAG’s activities.

The OMG will:

• Represent the views of older members within AAG;
• Enhance co-design and participation in programs that promote the health, wellbeing and quality of life of older Australians;
• Identify service gaps and advocate for improved research, policy and service delivery;
• Share insights on navigating later life, including planning, decision-making, and resilience;
• Demonstrate the continued and unique value of older people to the ageing sector and to AAG itself.