Aging today, has become a global concern. Tunisia is currently ranked among the rapidly aging countries.
The national institute of nutrition of Tunis (INNTA), in partnership with the national institute of health (INSP), joined forces with neighboring countries from the Mediterranean basin which emanates from a worrying reflection around our elders, especially those who are dependent and/or at risk of social exclusion.
The project was presented in detail during a webinar held on November 3, 2020 with the presence of imminent personalities representing different sectors in relation with the different aspects of the elderly care.
The head of the TEC-MED Tunisian team, Professor Jalila El Ati then brought this discussion to one of the most famous health Media sections in Tunisia on RTCI RADIO WAVE. Here are the most important sequences of the interview:
Professor Jalila EL ATI, would you present The TEC MED project and its objectives ?
TEC MED is a project part of the “ENI CBC Mediterranean Sea Basin Program 2014-2020”. It is a multilateral cross-border cooperation program co-financed by the European Union under the European Neighborhood Instrument (ENI). The project brings together 10 teams of researchers and 6 countries of the Mediterranean basin Spain, Italy , Greece, Tunisia, Lebanon and Egypt.
The objective of the TEC MED project is to develop and set up a model of care for the elderly. It is a social, health, ethical and transcultural model. It must take into account all ethical aspects such as the dignity of the person, human rights, autonomy, justice, equity, ageism. We are also talking about a transcultural aspect because it is a model that we think we can duplicate in the other countries of the Mediterranean basin.
Professor Jalila El Ati emphasizes the relevance of the contextualization of the model. Since each country has different characteristics, the model has to be adapted to national and local contexts through countries within the Mediterranean basin .
This Mediterranean research model based on local data-collection reflects the Tunisian context.
The elderly population represents 11.5% in 2014. According to the projections of the INS (the national statistical institute) the elderly will represent for the first time in the history of Tunisia a proportion higher than the [0-14 years old] age category.
Furthermore, the life expectancy In 1956 was 51.1 years, whereas nowadays, life expectancy increased and it is about 74 years.
After the independence, the government focused on nutritional deficiencies problems that concern children, but currently things have changed, and Tunisia is entering a new phase of its epidemiological transition, characterized by an ageing population and a significant increase in non-communicable diseases.
Another piece of data which also shows the risk that one third of our elderly face: 37.2% have no financial source Among this population, and this might be a very alarming issue that needs to be taken into account .
There are older people who are financially independent and others who are physically independent. The project focuses on several issues, isn’t it?
This project focus on Multisectoral Approachessocial, health,financial, transcultural and ethical issues and requires the input and participation of several stakeholders representing the different sectors in relation with the actual model for the elderly, such as policy makers, health professionals, civil society, the private sector, researchers, and social care professionals.The TEC-MED project has identified around thirty key players who are officially appointed and who will speak on behalf of the sectors they represent.It is a new organizational model that will be designed to support cooperation and partnership between public institutions and social care actors.
What is the output of the Workshop?
The TEC-MED project started in September 2019. We have since developed a draft model that we discussed during the workshop with key stakeholders.
We have therefore articulated the TEC MED model around 6 key dimensions:
• The main dimension is the beneficiary of this project who is the elderly person or his family.
• Social and health service providers
• The environment which must be accessible, sustainable and secure
• Governance
•Funding
• Technology
This is a project that has been well thought out before. In practice how this Model will be implemented?
In support of the transcultural social-ethical-care TECMED model for the dependent elderly populations, 51 planned actions were discussed in the workshop, in order to develop an Action Plan to operate the Model and support key players. These 51 actions will be prioritized and then tested at 03 levels on a representative pilot scale:
• A private institution for the care of the elderly
• A public institution for the care of the elderly
•Home
This pilot test explores the acceptability and applicability of the model with beneficiaries and key stakeholders at different levels.The project aims to duplicate the model for social assistance at the national level and within the Mediterranean region.
When will seniors benefit from your recommendations? When do we go from theory to practice?
The designed actions are planned to be implemented in January 2021. Each action must be transformed into a program with leadership, planning, corresponding, funding and performance indicators to assess each action.
The idea is to develop a model unit for the care of the elderly and then to decentralize this model to a unit of care per governorate.
We know that the project is funded by the European Union, is it just the study that is funded or subsequently the implementation of this model?
The TEC-MED project finances the study and the implementation of the model. We gave ourselves a period of 6 months for the evaluation and the validation of the model . Then we are going to duplicate the model and the project will be funded up to 2022.
Professor Jalila ElAti concluded the interview by welcoming the effort of all the resource persons who participated in the development of this model and in particular their active and committed participations to succeed in the implementation of the TEC MED project.
Revised By Dr. Chiraz Béji
