Testing for Elderly Fragility: A Valuable Public Policy and an Opportunity for Postal Operators

Because of population aging, dependency represents a major societal challenge. The potential role of prevention has been mostly neglected in the literature and the debate. To fill this gap the World Health Organization advocates deploying throughout the territories a systematic approach to the prevention of loss of autonomy called ICOPE (Integrated Care for Older People). The national postal operators (NPOs) through their ability to reach each citizen at home, thanks to their large human network and the bonds of trust forged over decades between the population and mail carriers, may provide a significant contribution to the success of this program by carrying out the screening tests in order to assess the dependency risk of individuals belonging to a relevant age group. To study the economic foundations of this approach, we provide through a simple model a precise description of costs and benefits of testing and of providing preventive care. We present and discuss the conditions under which a universal testing program is desirable.