Forte is now granting about SEK 22 million to five new research projects that applied through the call Health and welfare of ageing populations in Sweden and India 2022.

What are the consequences of social frailty among ageing populations? How can family caregivers to persons with dementia get support? Can yoga improve the quality of life in older people with post covid-19? These are some of the questions that the research groups in Sweden and India want to find out and will collaborate on.

Portrait photo of Teresia Weinberg, Senior Research Officer
Teresia Weinberg

– Forte has a long-standing collaboration with ICMR and it is great that we now have granted these five collaborative projects on ageing, says Teresia Weinberg, senior research officer who works on Forte’s collaboration with India.

The proportion of older people in Sweden, India and many other countries is increasing. This development is leading to significant challenges for elderly health care services, as more people are expected to live longer with illness and disability. Health care and issues of older people have also been highlighted by The United Nations ‘Decade of Healthy Ageing’, which aims at providing age friendly environments and integrated long-term care.

Since 2015, Forte has an agreement with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for a research collaboration in ageing and health. On January 25, 2022, Forte and ICMR opened a joint call, Health and welfare for an ageing population in Sweden and India in 2022”. The aim is to fund research that support active and healthy ageing and is intended to stimulate interdisciplinary and innovative research on ageing and health. The applications have been submitted jointly for researchers active in Sweden and India and it is now official which of the projects are granted research funding.

– We required that the projects must joint, where researchers in India receive funding from ICMR and Forte funds the Swedish researchers. This ensures knowledge exchange between our countries, as stated in our agreement with ICMR. It will be interesting to follow the projects and take part in the results in the future, says Teresia Weinberg.

Granted applications

The cognitive consequences of social frailty: a mixed methods study of precarity and resilience among aging populations in India and Sweden

Project leader: Julia Schröders, Umeå University
Granted funds: SEK 4 950 000

m-Health based intervention by community workers to support family caregivers to persons with dementia living at home

Project leader: Zarina Kabir, Karolinska Institutet
Granted funds: SEK 4 250 000

Post covid-19 condition as a threat to healthy ageing: a randomized controlled trial of yoga to improve quality of life

Project leader: Mats Hallgren, Karolinska Institutet
Granted funds: SEK 3 930 000

Healthy ageing for Indigenous communities in India and Sweden with focus on nutricous and culturally adequate food provision

Project leader: Ildikó Asztalos Morell, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Granted funds: SEK 5 000 000

Development and feasibility of a digital intervention for common mental health problems among older adults

Project leader: Christopher Sundström, Karolinska Institutet
Granted funds: SEK 4 150 000