Healthy ageing in the Netherlands.
Date: 2017-07-26
Institutions: Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency
Subjects: Netherlands, care for the elderly, elderly person, health care, population ageing

Healthy ageing
in the Netherlands

By supporting the development of health promotion 
activities for older people and enhancing health system 
responsiveness to the needs of older people, EU health 
programme projects are helping the Netherlands 
prepare for an ageing population. 

An ageing population

By 2030, some 24 % of the Dutch population is predicted to be aged 65 or over, up from 14 % in 2000. Over the same period, 
the number of people with chronic conditions is set to increase to 7 million (40 % of the population). As the Netherlands 
already has one of Europe’s highest expenditures on health, an ageing population therefore presents considerable challenges.

age 65 to 75

75+

2013

1.6 million

85+

1.2 million

Distinct  growth  in 
75+ age group

2020

2030

2040

2.1 million

2.6 million

Anticipated growth in the older Dutch population, 2013-2040

Meeting the challenges

Healthy ageing is central to four key challenges in public health and healthcare identified by the Netherlands: keeping people 
healthy  as  long  as  possible  and  curing  illness  promptly;  supporting  vulnerable  people  and  enabling  social  participation; 
promoting individual autonomy; and keeping healthcare affordable. Through EU health programme projects, the Netherlands 
is sharing experiences and identifying solutions to issues common to all countries in Europe.

Consumers, Health, 
Agriculture and Food 
Executive Agency

 
Alliances promoting 
physical activity

Project  name:  Building  Policy  Capacities  for  Health 
Promotion through Physical Activity among Sedentary Older 
People (PASEO).

Number of partners: 14 from 14 countries: CZ, DE, EL, ES, 
FR, IT, LT, NL, NO, AT, PL, PT, SI, SE. EU funding: €800 000. 
Duration: 30 months.

The PASEO project’s goal was to strengthen national capaci-
ties for health promotion based on increased physical activity 

in older people. It aimed to establish or strengthen connec-
tions  between  academic,  governmental  and  non-govern-
mental partners across different sectors, to increase capacity 
to  develop  programmes  for  promoting  physical  activity  in 
older people. The project helped to establish a new national 
alliance in the Netherlands spanning multiple partners.

Visit: http://bit.ly/1CaMEWF

Integrated care for 
senior citizens with 
multiple health 
problems

Project name: Innovating care for people with multiple chronic 
conditions in Europe (ICARE4EU).

Number of partners: 5 from 5 countries: DE, IT, NL, FI, UK. EU 
funding: €1 214 321. Duration: 38 months.

Led  by  researchers  from  NIVEL,  the  ICARE4EU  project  is 
identifying  and  disseminating  examples  of  best  practice  in 
the  integrated  care  of  senior  citizens  with  multiple  health 
conditions.

It  is  exploring  approaches  adopted  in  31  European  coun-
tries  to  integrate  health  and  social  care  for  older  patients, 
delivered  by  multidisciplinary  teams.  Programmes  will  be 
evaluated against set criteria, and information on the most 
effective  will  be  disseminated  to  policymakers  and  other 
stakeholders,  helping  to  improve  patient  care  and  enhance 
use of healthcare resources.

Visit: www.icare4eu.org/

Find out more

Ministries of Health, Welfare & Sport
www.eengezondernederland.nl/
Directorate-General for Health and Food safety
of the European Commission (DG SANTE)
ec.europa.eu/health/ageing/policy/index_en.htm
Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency 
(Chafea)
ec.europa.eu/chafea/index.html
Database of actions co-funded under the EU Health Programmes
ec.europa.eu/chafea/projects/database.html

3 years 

Increase in life expectancy in the 
Netherlands over the past decade.

Cost-effective treatment 
of older patients with 
complex needs

Project  name:  Using  Multidimensional  Prognostic  Indices 
(MPI) to improve cost-effectiveness of interventions in multi-
morbid frail older persons (MPI_AGE).

Number of partners: 9 from 8 countries: BE, CZ, DE, ES, FR, 
IT, NL, SE. EU funding: €837 572. Duration: 36 months.

Based  on  multiple  aspects  of  patients’  health  and  well-
being,  ‘multidimensional  prognostic  indices’  (MPI)  provide  a 
measure of patients’ likely survival, helping clinicians choose 
the most appropriate treatment plans.

The MPI_AGE project, which includes Erasmus Medical Center 
(EMC)  as  a  Dutch  partner,  will  evaluate  the  cost-effective-
ness of interventions for older patients with several serious 
health  conditions  and  different  MPI  risk  profiles,  to  identify 
the  most  appropriate  treatments  and  reduce  unnecessary 
use of resources.

Visit: www.mpiage.eu/home

© European Union, 2014
Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.

EB-04-15-090-EN-C (Print)
EB-04-15-090-EN-N (PDF)
978-92-9200-622-8 (Print)
978-92-9200-620-4 (PDF)
10.2818/312620 (Print)
10.2818/18870 (PDF)