Advancing longevity research in low and middle-income countries : A focus on older ages

In this talk, I will discuss how to advance research on later-life mortality in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). While data quality and availability are a major challenge, the extent of these data limitations varies widely across LMICs, calling for context-specific research strategies to advance later-life mortality research. For instance, in some Latin American countries, where several data limitations have already been addressed, we can explore hypotheses, such as those that considers the life-course approach, that explain later-life mortality patterns beyond the initial assumption of “it’s just bad data”. In contrast, in parts of sub-Saharan Africa, we should develop innovative approaches to address less-studied data issues, such as age exaggeration. By tailoring research approaches to specific contexts, we can gain more nuanced insights into mortality at older ages.