A Review of the Article “Active Aging and Healthy Living.”
A Review of the Article “Active Aging and Healthy Living.”
Purpose of the study
The paper gives an insight into the critical aspects of population aging which raises fundamental questions for the policy makers with regards to putting measures to foster healthy and active among this population in the society. The huge evidence on the spiraling health costs of an aging population has been the basis of strong arguments for the process of funding preventive approaches (Grassi, Marsan, & Riva, 2014).
Analyzing the health promotion services which are effective, usually provide more than just information and activities, and thus, the article seeks to identify the level of involvement in the adoption of approaches which would be both efficient and cost-effective in ensuring that people remain, active, healthy and independent as they age.
Background information
Healthy aging is a concept that is promoted by WHO and emphasizes on the ability of individuals of all ages to live a safe, healthy, and socially inclusive lifestyle. This has been undertaken on the basis that several factors beyond social care and health have a great impact on the individual’s health and well-being, and any form of contribution that could be made by all the sectors in influencing the determinants of health (Grassi, Marsan & Riva, 2014). There is a further acknowledgment of a life course approach to health which gives recognition to the impact that a person’s early life experiences have on the manner in which population groups age.
There have been potential impacts of the work of Healthy Aging Research Networks (HAN) which is considered of great significance with regards to the aging population of U.S. The evidence depicts that by 2030, one in every five Americans shall have reached the age of 65 or older. As individuals age, they develop the risk of having chronic diseases, for instance, cardiovascular disease, injuries from falling, arthritis, an increase in cognitive impairment, and diabetes and thus it’s inevitable to nurture healthy and active aging.
Moreover, this paper seeks to bridge the gap created on the platform of encouraging a collaborative work between the state unit on aging and the state’s public health department to reach the aging population with evidence-based health promotion programs. It further ensures that the programs are delivered in the most effective manner and with the broadest coverage.
Findings/Results of the study
In 2009, about 35% of the older adults were reported to be dealing with disability while 7% reported to be experiencing frequent mental distress. In a number of communities, the rate of depression ranges from 1%-5% among individuals ages 65 or older. Nevertheless, this rate rises to approximately 12% among older hospital patients and about 14% of older people who require home health care.
Older adults who experience cognitive (ability to learn new thing, remember, use intuition and judge) decline are unable to conduct activities and even care for themselves. More than five million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease, which is considered the most common type of dementia in older adults and this number is predicted to nearly triple.
The proposed original questions of the research encompassed the various aspects of health concern among the aging population. The conclusions in this article have highlighted the health concerns and the best practices to which the aging can be subjected to in order to ensure that they practice healthy living measures. The additional question that the research could have sought to answer is the formulation of support developments which would foster healthy environments and policies for the aging.
Weaknesses and strengths of the study
The research has deployed a non-randomized study design which gives the research a positive note since this design gives valuable evidence on the aspects of aging and the associated health issues. The randomized studies are then key sources of evidence on the possible health effects and the need to foster measures which would ensure that the aging population lives in a safe, and healthy environment.
Moreover, the findings of the study sample on the active and healthy living among the aging is adequate enough to be extrapolated to a larger population. The design puts into consideration the measure of random error as it ensures that the variations -deviations from the true measure of the population are minimized at all cost (Grassi, Marsan & Riva, 2014).
On the other hand, the research faces the weakness of selection bias. There is a big difference between the population selected into the sample and the one not selected. This makes the research sample to lack absolute reliability as it’s considered not a representative of the population.
Recommendations for future studies
Healthy living among the aging population is critical to the well-being of the individuals. Therefore, recommendations on the future studies in this area would entail understanding the influencing factors of active and healthy aging within diverse settings and populations, and the need to establish public health policies and programs for such a population.
Implications of the study’s findings
The need of formulating a better approach to foster healthy living among the aging is the basic finding of the research article. This need has enabled an ongoing collaboration from different frontiers within the government, NGO’s and other stakeholders to come up with better approaches towards solving the health concerns among the aging. For instance, the National Council on Aging and the HAN members have collaboratively worked on a number of online educational modules geared towards providing evidence-based programs for the older adults.
Reference
Grassi, C., Marsan, P. A., & Riva, G. (2014). Active ageing and healthy living: A human centered approach in research and innovation as source of quality of life. Amsterdam, Netherlands: IOS Press.
