Institute For The Future

Living Longer, Aging Well: the future of health + aging

We’re all aging, whether we’re closer to our first birthday or our hundredth. And that’s been the case since the dawn of humanity. But the percentage of our population that older adults make up is changing, and fast. By 2025, older adults will comprise a greater portion of our society than at any time in human history. In the next decade, age-related illnesses and labor dynamics threaten to strain our institutions and support systems in unprecedented ways, upending assumptions about what it means to age well.

We’re pleased to release our forecast map, Living Longer, Aging Well, which tackles the future of aging. It argues that to address the varied and competing needs around aging in the next 10 years, we’ll look to both social and technological shifts to holistically support four core facets of aging well—body, mind, wealth, and relationships. From exoskeletons and Internet-connected appendages to new narratives around dying well and cognitive decline, this map explores the many ways we’ll age well in the next decade.

This research map, available to the public for the first time, can be used as a tool to redesign our future health, well-being, and technology in a truly person-centered way. Whether you’re an established health-care player, an aspiring startup, or a community organizer, this map is a tool to inspire and guide you and your organization to move toward a future we’ll all want to age into.

More Information

• For information about Health Horizons' research plans, check out the 2016 Health Horizons Research Agenda (PDF)
• For information about becoming a Health Horizons sponsor, which includes access to exclusive research, workshops, and events, please contact Dawn Alva at [email protected]