O-42 A PESTLE Analysis on the global ageing population, a Healthcare perspective in Trinidad and Tobago

Methods: This was a Descriptive cross-sectional qualitative study of local and international policies and articles derived from PubMed and Google Scholar searches were used to extract external factors, using the established Political, Economic, Social, Technologic, Legal and Environment (PESTLE) analysis system to examining the effect of healthcare in the ageing population.

Results: Trinidad and Tobago’s life-expectancy has significantly increased from 63 years in 1960 to 74 years in 2020, following global trends; posing several challenges to the healthcare system. The PESTLE challenges include: Political: Government plays a vital role in health and longevity influences health and labour policies. Economic: Delaying pension receipt has a positive governmental effect but negative individual impact on health for the lower socioeconomic class. Social: Migration and childlessness leads to loss of support for the elderly, burdening social services. Technological: IT developments in medical diagnostics and intervention are boosting health and social involvement of the elderly. Legal: Globally, WHO calls for Universal Health Coverage for the elderly and locally, the Division of Ageing focuses on ageing initiatives to protect the rights of the elderly, preventing elder abuse. Environment: Climate change, rise in NCDs and susceptibility to infectious disease evident by the pandemic burdens the elderly.

Conclusion: Healthcare policy reform, regulatory oversight and fortification of information systems can solve the challenges of Trinidad and Tobago’s ageing population.