How Healthy Ageing Can Foster Age-Friendly Environment?

Academia Letters, 2021

Background As 'healthy ageing' is used extensively by a wide range of experts across an eclectic spectrum of various disciplines, its meaning and perspective fluctuates across sectors. While for a scientist engaged in biomedical research, it is indicative of the absence of disease or cognitive disability, to a social scientist [1], it is all about personal well-being and a satisfactory life [2]. According to the World Health Organization, healthy ageing can be looked as a holistic process of developing and maintaining the functional ability-thus ensuring well-being in older age. A person's capability to meet their basic needs, take independent decisions, be mobile without fearing any impending danger, maintaining stable relationships with their close ones and being accomplished for contributing to the society are some important factors necessary preconditions for healthy ageing. Presently, projections state that the percentage of population aged above 60 years as a proportion of the global population would double from 11% in 2006 to 22% by 2050 [3]. As the proportion of older population continues to grow, the phenomenon is more rapid in urban areas as compared to its rural counterparts-making the old population more concentrate in urban areas. Needless to say, such a transition demands creation of age-friendly communities to ensure promotion of health and personal development, necessary for a dignified lifestyle of the elderly. An age-friendly community is one which encourages active aging subject to optimum opportunities like health, accessible services, active participation and stable security [3]. The main physiognomies of an age-friendly community, as emphasized by the elderly include: (i)

ATINER CONFERENCE PAPER SERIES , 2016

The aging process is great and unheard of in the past, challenge for governments, economies and societies. This means the need to meet the needs of the growing group of people with specific requirements, with full rights and legitimate aspirations for decent quality of life and be involved in society. Effective management in this area is primarily a matter of the reform of health insurance, tax and retirement system, or other distribution of funds. Of course, these changes are important, but we should take various measures to create friendly environment for the elderly: social solutions conducive to maintaining an active lifestyle and innovative projects allowing for broad independent. The answer to this can be the concept of Age-friendly Cities and Communities (AFC) which was conceived in 2005 at the XVIII IAGG World Congress of Gerontology and Geriatrics in Rio de Janeiro. It immediately attracted enthusiastic interest, and in 2010 has transformed into The WHO Global Network of Age-friendly Cities and Communities to foster the exchange of experience and mutual learning between cities and communities worldwide. The Network has identified eight domains of city life that might influence the health and quality of life of older people: outdoor spaces and buildings; transportation; housing; social participation; respect and social inclusion; civic participation and employment; communication and information; and community support and health services. Members of the network must implement a variety of activities in this area. Currently membership spans across 26 countries with a total of 209 cities and communities. The proposed speech will be a presentation of the idea of AFC as a response to the needs of life in aging societies. The theoretical analysis will be supplemented with the presentation of examples of implementation of the AFC in selected European cities to show the variety of actions.

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2021

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health , 2021

Journal of Aging & Social Policy, 2022

Since the early 2000s, a global age-friendly movement has emerged with aspirations to make environments and systems within localities more supportive of long and healthy lives. Despite growth in the social movement over the past decade, research on how to work toward community change, especially in systematic and comprehensive ways across diverse geopolitical and sociocultural contexts, has been relatively slower to develop. This special issue of the Journal of Aging & Social Policy aims to accelerate this area. It features articles that advance knowledge on processes and contexts toward enhancing the age-friendliness of cities and communities. In this introductory essay, we provide background on the age-friendly cities and communities movement -including its accomplishments alongside key challenges. We then discuss the importance of research at the intersection of policy and practice to strengthen the movement into the 21st century. Next, we introduce the articles in this special issue, organized under four themes: implementation and sustainability processes; partnerships and multisectoral collaboration; theory-based program design; and policy and practice diffusion. A final article provides an overview of the career contributions of Dr. Frank Caro, an age-friendly champion and gerontologist to whom this special issue is dedicated.

Journal of Aging & Social Policy, 2018

Developing age-friendly cities and communities has become a key part of policies aimed at improving the quality of life of older people in urban areas. The World Health Organization has been especially important in driving the “age-friendly” agenda, notably through its global network of age-friendly cities and communities. Despite the expansion and achievements of the network, challenges remain in responding to the growth of inequality and the impact of economic austerity on aging policies. Against the background of these limitations, this article sets out a “manifesto for the age-friendly movement” aimed at raising the aspirations of what is now a worldwide movement. The areas covered in the manifesto are challenging social inequality, widening participation, coproducing and codesigning age-friendly communities, encouraging multisectorial and multidisciplinary collaboration, and integrating research with policy. The article concludes with a discussion on developing age-friendly work as a contribution to a new agenda for urban aging.

Journal of Urban Health, 2010

At the same time as cities are growing, their share of older residents is increasing. To engage and assist cities to become more "age-friendly," the World Health Organization (WHO) prepared the Global Age-Friendly Cities Guide and a companion "Checklist of Essential Features of Age-Friendly Cities". In collaboration with partners in 35 cities from developed and developing countries, WHO determined the features of age-friendly cities in eight domains of urban life: outdoor spaces and buildings; transportation; housing; social participation; respect and social inclusion; civic participation and employment; communication and information; and community support and health services. In 33 cities, partners conducted 158 focus groups with persons aged 60 years and older from lower-and middle-income areas of a locally defined geographic area (n=1,485). Additional focus groups were held in most sites with caregivers of older persons (n=250 caregivers) and with service providers from the public, voluntary, and commercial sectors (n=515). No systematic differences in focus group themes were noted between cities in developed and developing countries, although the positive, age-friendly features were more numerous in cities in developed countries. Physical accessibility, service proximity, security, affordability, and inclusiveness were important characteristics everywhere. Based on the recurring issues, a set of core features of an age-friendly city was identified. The Global Age-Friendly Cities Guide and companion "Checklist of Essential Features of Age-Friendly Cities" released by WHO serve as reference for other communities to assess their age readiness and plan change.

Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, 2020

Background: Elderly population is rising due to advancement of health care, medical services, and increasing life expectancy. World Health Organization (WHO) has initiated a global project to define “age-friendly city for improving the elderly's quality of life”. Objectives: The purpose of the study was to determine the age-friendly cities characteristics from the elderly's point of view in Gorgan, Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2019 on elderly people who referred to the health centers of Gorgan, Iran. 160 eligible elderly people were recruited through multi-stage random sampling. The viewpoint of participants about the characteristics of Gorgan in the four age-friendly city indicators; urban and outdoor buildings, transport and transportation systems, information and communication services, and social support and health services was compared with the standard of WHO. Data were collected using the age-friendly city questionnaire and analyzed in SP...

2012

Developing environments responsive to the aspirations and needs of older people has become a major concern for social and public policy. This article aims to provide a critical perspective on what has been termed ‘age-friendly cities’ by shifting the focus from questions such as ‘What is an ideal city for older people?’ to the question of ‘How age friendly are cities?’ This approach, it is argued, might be more suited to deal with the complexities of cities as sites of interlocking and conflicting commercial, social, and political interests. This theme is developed by examining: first, the main factors driving the age-friendly debate; second, constraints and opportunities for older people living in urban environments; third, options for a critical social policy; and, fourth, examples of involving older people in the development of age-friendly environments. The article concludes with a brief summary of current tensions and contradictions in the age-friendly debate.