Hosted by David Lee, Ph.D., professor in the Division of Epidemiology & Population Health Sciences, the International Conference on Aging in the Americas (ICAA) convened researchers, clinicians, and policy experts December 4–5 to examine emerging evidence and the practical realities shaping care for aging populations in the United States and Latin America.

Across sessions, a consistent message surfaced: improving later-life health will require interventions that work beyond controlled settings, health systems that can deliver them equitably, and technologies designed with older adults in mind.

Several presentations focused on translating evidence into real-world programs. Patricia Morsch, Ph.D., of the Pan American Health Organization, highlighted how physical activity recommendations are often delivered without the guidance older adults need to act on them.

“Often the recommendation is simply, ‘You have to exercise,’” Dr. Morsch said, “but people are not told how to do it, where to go, or what type of exercise is appropriate, especially for older adults.”

Dr. Morsch described an approach that integrates cardiovascular activity, resistance training, and balance exercises tied to fall prevention. While the full program was designed for people with diabetes, implementation partners raised concerns about excluding older adults with multiple chronic conditions. In response, the team preserved the full diabetes-focused model while offering the exercise component more broadly, using functional assessments to guide participation.

“The goal was not only to manage diabetes itself, but to help older adults maintain their capacity and independence while managing the clinical aspects of the condition,” she said.

Early implementation suggested both feasibility and engagement. Dr. Morsch described a pilot in a rural municipality in Chile conducted during winter that achieved 73% participation. In El Salvador, the team tested both in-person and virtual models, including follow-up through WhatsApp, with results that helped inform national implementation through the Ministry of Health. The program has since been implemented in Chile, Honduras, and Argentina, with expansion underway in additional countries.

Other sessions examined how migration, education, and life-course exposures shape cognitive aging.

Nicholas Bishop, Ph.D., a social demographer and assistant professor at the University of Arizona, presented cross-national research comparing cognitive outcomes among Mexican-origin older adults in the United States and Mexico, drawing on harmonized data from the Health and Retirement Study and the Mexican Health and Aging Study.

“Our findings suggest that education explains much of the difference we see in overall cognitive function,” Dr. Bishop said, “but memory appears to follow a different pattern, particularly among immigrants living in the United States.”

Dr. Bishop noted that Mexican-origin immigrants demonstrated memory performance comparable to U.S.-born individuals despite lower levels of formal education, raising questions about protective factors linked to migration, work, and social environments. He emphasized the need for further research to understand how policy, opportunity, and structural conditions shape cognitive health across borders.

While applied interventions demonstrated immediate promise, other sessions emphasized the broader systems required to sustain impact.

Peter Berman, Ph.D., a health economist at Harvard University, discussed how differences in economic capacity and health system structure shape countries’ ability to respond to population aging. He stressed that strategies for aging populations must account for these constraints rather than assume one-size-fits-all solutions.

“We have many needs and many ideals, but ultimately we need to improve the world as it exists today,” said Dr. Berman.

Dr. Berman framed health systems as serving multiple goals simultaneously, extending beyond clinical outcomes. “Health systems are not only about health,” he said. “They are also about financial risk protection and the satisfaction of citizens.” He noted that equity is central to this conversation, arguing that outcomes and their distribution across populations must guide policy decisions.

The economic dimensions of aging were further explored in a presentation by Stivka Madraja, Ph.D., an assistant professor of health systems and population health at the University of Washington, who examined the current and projected costs of family caregiving for older adults with and without dementia. Drawing on national data, Dr. Madraja highlighted the scale of unpaid caregiving and the disproportionate financial burden borne by caregivers from minoritized communities.

“Family members are the backbone of long-term care, but that care comes at a real economic cost, for caregivers themselves, for employers, and for society,” said Dr. Madraja.

Dr. Madraja emphasized that caregiving often leads to reduced labor force participation, lost earnings, and long-term financial consequences that extend well beyond the caregiving period. She noted that these effects are expected to intensify as the population ages and the demand for care increases, underscoring the importance of policies that allow caregivers to remain attached to the workforce.

Technology emerged as both a potential tool and a source of concern. Presentations on digital health and artificial intelligence underscored the gap between rapid innovation and uneven adoption among older adults. Speakers emphasized that perceived usefulness and usability strongly influence whether older adults are willing to engage with new tools, and that skepticism toward AI remains common, particularly among older populations and historically marginalized groups.

Panel discussions extended this conversation to questions of power, equity, and workforce implications. Participants raised concerns that AI could widen disparities if tools are developed and deployed without community input or safeguards against bias. Others cautioned against replacing human care with automated solutions, particularly as shortages in geriatric and primary care providers persist.

The meeting concluded with a consensus-building session that shifted the focus from identifying challenges to defining priorities for future research and collaboration. Participants called for stronger cross-sector partnerships, greater inclusion of caregivers and older adults with lived experience, and more intentional dissemination of research findings to inform policy and practice.

Taken together, the discussions highlighted a shared understanding: progress in healthy aging will depend not on isolated innovations, but on systems capable of integrating evidence, policy, and technology in ways that preserve dignity, independence, and equity across the life course.

Written by Deycha Torres Hernández, published on December 6, 2025.