When is Senior Health Awareness Week

The Elderly Health Promotion Week does not have a fixed date in the Gregorian calendar. Starting from 2019, the National Health and Health Commission will set July as the fixed holding period of the Elderly Health Promotion Week. The specific start and end dates of each year will be based on the publicity theme and national work arrangements of the year. Official notices will be released 1-2 months in advance. In most years, it will be concentrated in mid-to-late July, and the event duration will be unified to 7 days.

To be honest, when I was volunteering for elderly health in the community two years ago, I was asked this question by many adults. Everyone always thought that it would be easier to remember if there is a fixed date like the Double Ninth Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival, so as to avoid missing free free clinics and popular science lectures and other welfare activities. For example, the promotion week in 2023 is from July 24 to 30, and the theme is "Scientific Fitness Helps the Health of the Elderly." At that time, our community specially invited teachers from the sports school to teach the simplified version of Baduanjin. Grandpas and aunts who did morning exercises in the morning could follow along after practicing Tai Chi. After the event, you can get a free oil-control pot and salt-limiting spoon. The booth that measures blood pressure and blood sugar on site is packed with people. Uncle Zhang, who lives in Building 3, found out that his blood pressure was high that day. Later, he went to the hospital to get a full physical examination, which was considered a "benefits" during the event.

It is no wonder that some people call for fixing the date of the publicity week. After all, a unified date is easier to form a memory point. Whether it is grassroots preparatory activities or the participation of the elderly, there is no need to wait for last-minute notices. However, I have talked with the health staff in charge of the street, and they feel that the current flexible adjustment model is more down-to-earth. Take 2024 as an example. The publicity week is scheduled from July 15 to 21, with the theme of "Scientific Health Preservation and Healthy Retirement." It happens to be the first two weeks of students' summer vacation. Many volunteer teams from high schools and universities are free to come and help, teaching the elderly how to use smartphones to log in online and check physical examination reports. The number of people is doubled compared to usual, and the activity effect is much better. If the date is fixed, it may not be able to catch up with the window period for students' holidays, and instead it will be a waste of manpower.

Oh, by the way, many provinces will also set up local elderly health promotion activities in addition to the national unified publicity week. Some cities in Guangdong and Zhejiang will place local supplementary publicity around the Double Ninth Festival, which coincides with the theme activities of respecting and caring for the elderly. While distributing health gift packs to the elderly and organizing free screenings, they can also organize some activities such as hiking and tea parties. The enthusiasm of the elderly to participate is much higher than when the weather is hot in July. This kind of flexible adjustment is also in line with the requirements of the National Health Commission to "carry out publicity according to local conditions" and is not considered a "violation".

In fact, after three years of volunteering, I think you don’t need to worry too much about the specific month and day of the promotion week. Many families rush to the publicity week to buy a bunch of health care products for the elderly and take a group photo. Normally, the elderly are at home reading health care rumors and buying fraudulent products, so it is useless even if they remember the dates. Of course, if you happen to catch up with the offline activities of the publicity week near your home, it will definitely be a good thing to take the elderly to listen to the doctor's popular science and get a free bone density screening. However, the more important thing is to pay more attention to the health status of the elderly and don't save all your care for that week. If you really want to participate in that year's event, just log in to the official public account of the local health department one month in advance. Notifications will be sent out in advance, so you won't miss it.