World Health Day - 7 April

Every year, World Health Day is celebrated on 7 April to mark the anniversary of the founding of WHO in 1948. Each year a theme is selected for World Health Day that highlights a priority area of concern for WHO.

World Health Day is a global campaign, inviting everyone – from global leaders to the public in all countries – to focus on a single health challenge with global impact. Focusing on new and emerging health issues, World Health Day provides an opportunity to start collective action to protect people's health and well-being.

The topic of World Health Day in 2012 is Ageing and health with the theme "Good health adds life to years". The focus is how good health throughout life can help older men and women lead full and productive lives and be a resource for their families and communities. Ageing concerns each and every one of us – whether young or old, male or female, rich or poor – no matter where we live.

National STEM Centre eLibrary teaching resources:

Understanding Old Age
This Nuffield Working with Science unit was designed to enable students to trace the way in which the age structure of the population has changed, to gain experience in interpreting and presenting data, to identify and discuss some of the problems of the elderly, and to study how far the welfare services meet their needs.

In addition students were given opportunities to test, by experiment, the effects of ageing on the nervous system, to consider the design features of some aids for old people and finally to design and produce an elderly person's aid themselves.

Ageing
Produced for the Debating Matters, this topic guide contains background information, to encourage discussion and debate, on the issues associated with increased life expectancy.

Over the last 150 years, life expectancy in the UK has nearly doubled from 40 to 80 years and research indicates half of babies born today are expected to live to 100 years old. The attitude we adopt as individuals and as a society affects how we see the phenomenon of ageing. The debate therefore throws up two issues. First, there’s the practical question: can we cope with the challenge of an ageing population, now and in the future? Second, there’s the underlying moral question: should scientists focus on increasing human lifespan?

STEM careers:

Have you ever wondered how technology is used in healthcare? How drugs are developed? How biomaterials can be used to improve human health?

The Futuremorph website has two case studies on technology in medicine that will talk you through the tasks and jobs that each of the individuals carry out on a daily basis in order to fulfil their roles.

Work Experience in the NHS
Produced by NHS Careers, this toolkit provides background information and advice for schools and other organisations involved in arranging work experience for students in the NHS.