As people grow older, their health needs are likely to become more complex and chronic. Yet most health systems are better designed to address acute health conditions and often operate independently of long-term-care systems, which can lead to poorer outcomes.

The WHO Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE) programme has developed new guidelines on community-level interventions to manage declines in intrinsic capacity (ICOPE) that provide evidence-based recommendations for health care professionals to prevent, slow or reverse declines in the physical and mental capacities of older people. These recommendations require countries to place the needs and preferences of older adults at the centre and to coordinate care.

The ICOPE Guidelines will allow countries to improve the health and well-being of their older populations, and to move closer to the achievement of universal health coverage for all at all ages.

To download the guidelines and for more information, please visit: http://www.who.int/ageing/publications/guidelines-icope/en/