When is Senior Health Awareness Week

When is Senior Health Awareness Week? The answer is The third week of July every year. It is hosted by the National Health Commission and is a national special publicity event aimed at the elderly, their families and elderly care service practitioners to popularize health knowledge and spread the concept of elderly health. It has been held for 6 consecutive sessions since 2019.

Many people are a little confused when they first learn about this time: Why not just set a fixed date of the month, but instead use something as vague as "the third week of July"? In fact, the industry has always had two different views on this time setting. Practitioners who prefer public communication support setting fixed dates, such as the Double Ninth Festival and National Disability Day, so that it is easy for everyone to remember, and there is no need to recheck the date every year when promoting, making it less likely to make mistakes. However, most of the staff who are actually working in the community think that the current setting is more reasonable: July happens to be the summer vacation period for students, and many younger generations who work outside will go home to visit their elders, or participate in activities with the elderly at home when they have time. Weekly arrangements can also flexibly allocate time. On weekends, free clinics and parent-child activities for the elderly are held in the square, and on weekdays, they go to nursing homes and deliver health packs to the elderly with limited mobility. There is no need to rush to a fixed date to make it a formal activity of "gathering people together and taking photos."

And not all regions will strictly adhere to the unified time across the country. When I went to Qinghai Huzhu’s nursing home for research last year, I heard that the local publicity week activities would be postponed to early August. Firstly, it is still the rainy season in July, so the roads are slippery and it is easy for the elderly to fall when they go out. Secondly, the temperature is more comfortable in August. Sitting in the square for an afternoon will not make you feel uncomfortable in the sun, but the participation rate is higher. This kind of flexible adjustment is also in line with the original intention of the event: after all, the core of publicity is to allow the elderly to participate and benefit. Sticking to time will only sacrifice the first and the last.

I myself have been a volunteer for the publicity week at a community nursing home for three years. What impressed me most was not the gaudy printed brochures, but the first event of the 2023 publicity week. At that time, we set up the free clinic table in the pavilion in the center of the community. As soon as we set up the stall, Uncle Li, who often came to the inn to play chess, came over with a bird cage. He always felt pain in his knees before and did not dare to move. He rarely even went downstairs for a walk. That day, the orthopedic doctor brought a knee joint model to him. Why are the elderly prone to osteoarthritis? She also taught him three rehabilitation exercises that can be done while sitting. He went back and practiced for half a month. Later, he took the initiative to sign up to be the captain of the Yizhan Senior Fitness Team. He led a dozen old men and women to practice Baduanjin every day. His energy and energy were much better than before.

The current Senior Health Awareness Week is no longer the same old thing that everyone remembers as "eating less salt for high blood pressure" and "controlling sugar for diabetes". It also includes anti-pension scams, smartphone registration tutorials, and even scientific methods of intergenerational education, and small classes on beauty for the elderly. Many elderly people will drag their old sisters and buddies to come back next time after participating once. It is very lively. If you want to participate in activities near home, you don’t have to be stuck in time all over the country. Just ask the community committee or the nursing home in the community a week in advance. Many places will pre-heat the event in advance. You can also get free small gifts such as nail clippers and cooling fans when you participate in the activities, which is very practical.

To put it bluntly, regardless of the specific date, the core of Elderly Health Promotion Week has never been to complete the task in a formality, but to deliver useful knowledge and considerate services to the elderly so that everyone can truly feel the convenience. This is the most practical meaning of this event.