A Longitudinal Study of Egypt Healthy Aging Initiative AL-SEHA
AL-SEHA is an Egyptian initiative aiming at contributing to the global knowledge on the aging population by establishing an Egyptian health and retirement study modeled after the US Health and Retirement Surveys (HRS) and its sister Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). It aims to support responsive healthy aging policies by conducting a longitudinal study of older persons in Egypt that monitors the life journey of adult persons with its various dimensions, including health, access to health services, income, occupation, environment, and socioeconomic changes over a long period of time.
Preparatory Activities
This preparatory stage encompassed three important pilot studies. The main aim of these pilot studies is to explore the feasibility and applicability of applying the SHARE and related aging field studies within the Egyptian context.
Pilot I: The Regional Initiative Eastern Mediterranean Aging (EMage) 2021 -2022
The EMage aims to successfully strengthen capacity in survey methodology and data collection activities, including fieldwork. This activity was the Egyptian component of the EMage initiative. The activity was implemented by the Social Research Center and the Institute of Global Health and Human Ecology of the American University in Cairo and was supported by the German Academic Exchange Services (DAAD) through the Hochschuldialog mit der islamischen Welt program and the Munich Center for the Economics of Aging (MEA) at the Max-Planck-Institute for Social Law and Social Policy, Survey of Health Ageing and Retirement in Europe: (SHARE). ). The activity incorporated capacity building and networking activities, a translation of the SHARE questionnaires to Arabic, and a pilot fielding of the survey (N=300) to test the survey instrument and its suitability for an Arab population (Pilot-I).
The main objectives of this initiative are:
- Enhancing the capacity for research and policy development concerning population aging in Egypt.
- Encouraging Egypt to implement the SHARE Survey, which is an internationally well-acknowledged household survey for evidence-based advocacy and actions.
- Developing a network of scholars engaged in aging-related research and actions.
These objectives were met through:
- Building a consortium of Egyptian universities to support the pretesting of the SHARE questionnaire
- Translation of the SHARE questionnaire into Arabic
- Capacity Building on Survey Methodology and Data Collection
- Testing the SHARE questionnaire in the Egyptian communities (Pilot-I)
- Capacity Building on Analytical Skills
Team members of AL-SEHA study
Analytical output and publications
- Moustafa, S.A., Boersch-Supan, A. & Salama, M. Aging in an Arab country: knowledge gaps in Egypt. Nat Aging 3, 1042–1044 (2023). For the full article, click here
- El Sayed AEHI, Said MT, Mohsen O, Abozied AM, Salama M. Falls and associated risk factors in a sample of old age population in the Egyptian community. Front Public Health. 2023 Jan 26;11:1068314. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1068314. PMID: 36778572; PMCID: PMC9909230. For the full article, click here
Pilot II: Appling the SHARE in two Governorates in Egypt 2023
The main goal of the pilot study is to test and document the logistics of the fieldwork and data management activities. This activity is implemented within the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the project partners and is supported by The National Institute of Health through funding from the Institute of Social Research, the University of Michigan; the activities under the pilot study include:
- Selecting the two governorates for the pilot study and developing the sample design
- Developing the training manuals for interviewers and fieldwork staff
- Developing quality control manuals
- Fielding the survey in the two governorates
- Building data management plan and code book for open-ended questions
- Preliminary results from the pilot survey
For more information, click here.
Pilot III: Applying the Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol (HCAP)
This study aimed to validate the Egyptian version of the Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol (HCAP) through a pilot test. Subjects were recruited from three distinct sites, representing key regions in Egypt: Ain Shams Geriatric Hospital in Cairo, Outpatient Clinics in Mansoura University Teaching Hospital in Mansoura, and outpatient clinics in Beni Suef University Teaching Hospital in Beni Suef.
For more information, click here.
Other Relevant Contributions and Networking Activities on Healthy Aging in Egypt
A literature review of national, regional and international literature on Aging
This literature aims to shed light on Egypt ‘s aging experience through exploring population projections and situating Egypt on the aging dynamics. It also includes a comprehensive literature review of previous Egyptian and regional studies on the aging population to provide the needed base for contextualizing the SHARE questionnaire for the context of the Arab and Egyptian contexts. It further offers a review of the international literature on new aging dimensions to be incorporated into the AL-SEHA, namely health equity and climate change and other relevant issues.
Gaining Regional and National endorsements for health aging studies
This activity incorporated an international and regional expert meeting that aimed to investigate the regional demands to launch an initiative for an aging study modeled on the international and well-acclaimed SHARE experience. Such an experience provided a rich evidence base that successfully contributed to knowledge and influenced policies and actions such as health care, health insurance, pension and social protection in more than fifty countries in Europe, Asia, and the American continent.
On February 6-7, 2022, under the auspices of the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP) and Ministry Of Planning and Economic Development (MPED), the meeting was organized, by the Institute of Global Health and Human Ecology(IGHHE) and the Social Research Center (SRC) of American University in Cairo, in collaboration and with support from the World Health Organization Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (WHO/EMRO), the National Institute of Aging (NIA), the International Health and Retirement Study (HRS), the Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol study (HCAP), the Survey of Health and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), and Global brain Health Institute (GBHI).
Aging International Agenda
Aging International Concept Notes
- The Egyptian Minister of Health participated in the international and regional meetings
- The President of the Institute of National Planning participates in the international and regional meeting
- Signing a Memorandum of Agreement (in process) between The American University in Cairo, the Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP), the Ministry Of Planning and Economic Development (MPED) and the Institute of National Planning (INA) to collaborate in supporting national efforts in securing the welfare of Egypt’s older population and their families.
Engaging with the regional and international aging community
- Hoda Rashad is a Member of the Advisory Board for a Multi-stakeholder network on Aging in the Arab Region established by ESCWA (2022)
- Mohamed Salama is enrolling AL-SEHA in the African Population Cohorts Consortium: CE-APCC
- AUC submitted an application to The Doha International Family Institute (DIFI) and the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) under the OSRA research grant to support the production of an authored volume titled The Welfare of Older Persons in Egypt: People’s Voice and Responsive policy implications. The abstract of this volume was shared with Spring Nature editors, who expressed interest in it