Population ageing and the politics of demographic alarmism: implications for the nursing profession

Abstract

Objectives: This article provides a brief examination of the prejudices and politics framing current public debate on population ageing in Australia and the possible implications of this for the allocation of required health and social sector resources. The role and responsibility of nurses and professional nursing organisations to engage in and influence public policy debate concerning the health and social care of older people is highlighted. Setting: Australia. Subjects: Australia’s ageing population and succeeding generations over the next 40 years. Primary argument: According to the Australian government, population ageing in Australia is poised to cause unmanageable chaos for the nation’s public services. The cost of meeting the future health and social care needs of older Australians is predicted to be unsustainable. Officials argue that government has a stringent responsibility to ration current and future resources in the health and social care sector, cautioning that if this is not done, the nation’s public services will ultimately collapse under the strain of the everincreasing demands placed on these services by older people. This characterisation of population ageing and its consequences to the nation’s social wellbeing may however be false and misleading and needs to be questioned. Conclusion: The nursing profession has a fundamental role to play in ensuring responsible debate about population ageing and contributing to public policy agenda setting for the effective health and social care of Australia’s ageing population.