Work

Addressing the health rights and needs of older adults in humanitarian contexts: the importance of person-centred approaches

Year: 2026

Type: review

Abstract: Humanitarian health responses often fall short in delivering inclusive assistance that upholds the rights of older people and meets their health needs. Here, we define older people as those who self-identify or are recognised as such within their specific social and cultural contexts, which allows us to account for different life expectancies and changes in social roles across settings. At the same time that responses fall short, environmental disasters, armed conflict, disease outbreaks, displacement, and the effects of the climate emergency often disproportionately affect older adults. Consequently, a substantial and growing proportion of the older population is excluded from humanitarian health assistance and experience poor health outcomes. This Series paper adopted a multimethod approach that combined existing evidence syntheses, an additional literature review, an expert consultation, and case studies from health programmes in Afghanistan and Gaza, occupied Palestine, to examine the health needs and rights of older people in contexts affected by humanitarian crises. Using an ecosystem of determinants approach, this Series paper highlights how factors across humanitarian crisis contexts-including rights, equity, and inclusion; enabling environments and relationships; and essential needs and supports-interact to shape physical and cognitive health, functional ability, mental wellbeing, values, lived experiences, priorities, and preferences among older people. The Series paper further explores the complexity of older people's health needs, including the impacts of multimorbidity, frailty, and polypharmacy, and examines the importance of person-centred care approaches that respond to individual circumstances and priorities. Additionally, the Series paper explores person-centred care as a pathway to advancing health equity and upholding the rights of older people and examines barriers to implementing person-centred care approaches in contemporary humanitarian responses.

Source: The Lancet Healthy Longevity

DOI: 10.1016/j.lanhl.2026.100927

Authors: Javier Manrique, James Smith, Celine Maayeh, Mohammad Homayon Hashimi, Favila Escobio, Elburg Van Boetzelaer