Jaro Govaerts went on a work visit to the European Geriatric Medicine Society (EuGMS) conference in Reykjavik, Iceland, from September 24 to 26, 2025.
This September, I had the opportunity to visit the renowned European Geriatric Medicine Society (EuGMS) congress in Reykjavik, Iceland, supported by the APH Aging & Later Life (A&LL) travel grant.
During my visit, I attended many lectures to broaden my knowledge on care systems, technological advances and health strategies, which provided valuable insights into the complexity of the ageing process and how it is experienced by older adults. Since my PhD research focusses on the operationalization of the WHO’s latest healthy ageing framework, geriatricians belong to an important target audience since they play a key role in the implementation of this framework. Unexpectedly, only a limited amount of presentations discussed concepts like functional ability or intrinsic capacity, which are key pillars of the WHO’s healthy ageing framework. This highlighted the relevance of my own work, which I presented as an oral poster titled “The association between intrinsic capacity and functional ability in older adults – exploring the role of the physical environment.”. Presenting my first publication allowed me to share findings, receive valuable feedback, and further develop my presentation skills.
Finally, I made some new connections during the congress, but this was often more challenging than expected considering the strict planning of the presentations. Partaking in the additional social events might offer more spontaneous opportunities to network as an early stage researcher, which is something I will definitely take with me for future events and congresses. Overall, visiting the EuGMS was a highly informative, and inspiring experience for me, for which I want to express my gratitude to A&LL’s support.