Envelhecimento Demográfico e Saúde. Desafio para a Segurança Sanitária em Portugal

Abstract

In a global context of radicalism emergency achieved in terrorist attacks and threats of using CBRN agents, we chose to investigate the relationship between population ageing and health security, because there are standards of international organizations relating to the subject. Considering the national context of an ageing population, internal migration movement of the younger population to urban centers, the decline of family support, arising from the changing family structures and the reduction of health facilities in proximity, we are faced with vast areas of elderly population, lonely, weak, uneducated, with scarce economic resources and difficulties to move to distant health services, so we put the following guiding question: Considering the global existence of terrorist attacks threats, including CBRN threats, will be the ageing population and depopulation of rural areas, with reduced proximity health equipment, considered privileged health surveillance tools, an opportunity to realize an attack of this nature? We propose to make the study of ageing and health services in Portuguese NUTS III in order to characterize and understand regional health services realities. The present study may contribute to the knowledge of the regional reality, allowing a risk evaluation to the national security and supporting the decision-making related to national security and defense.