Assessing the Nutritional Vulnerability of Older People in Developing Countries: a Symposium

Help Age International and the Human Nutrition Unit of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine are holding a symposium on the 23rd and 24th of September 1997 which will discuss the assessment of malnutrition and vulnerability in older people in the developing world.

The symposium is the culmination of research carried out by the two organisations and reported upon in the recent issue of Field Exchange. The main aim of the research project has been to find a quick but reliable method of assessing vulnerability in older people through nutritional and other indicators. The results provide the basis for tests to be used in screening large numbers of older people in emergencies and also in more general assessments of the health status of older people in the community.

The symposium will include:

• workshops on indicators of vulnerability and assessing vulnerability by using anthropometric and other measurements
• discussions addressing other aspects of vulnerability such as social and economic factors, food security and morbidity
• presentation, in draft form of a handbook with practical guidelines on the use of the research findings in the field.

Further details can be obtained from: Nicky Packman, HelpAge International, 67-74 Saffron Hill, London EC1N 8QX, Tel No 44 171 4047201 .Fax 44 171 404 7203 E-mail: helpage@dial.pipex.com