Active ageing in Denmark; shifting institutional landscapes and the intersection of national and local priorities

'The night is for sleeping': how nurses care for conflicting temporal orders in older person care

This paper examines the conflicting temporal orders of the regional nurse, a role which has been introduced to deal with the increasing demands of aged care and workforce shortages in regional settings. We build on ethnographic research in the Netherlands, in which we examine regional district nurses as a new professional role that attends to (sub)acute care needs, connecting and coordinating different places of care during out of office hours. We use the concept of 'temporal regional order' to reflect on the different ways caring practices are temporally structured by management and care practitioners, in close interaction with patients and informal care givers. In the results three types of disruptions of the regional temporal order are distinguished: interfering bodily rhythms and needs; (un)expected workings of technologies; and disrupting acts of patient and relatives. It was region nurses' prime responsibility to stabilise these interferences and prevent or soften a disruption of the regional order. In accomplishing this, we show how nurses craft their professional role in between various care settings, without getting involved too much in patient care, to be mobile as 'temporal caregivers'.

The promotion of active aging through older adult education in the context of population aging

We have entered an era of population aging, and many public health problems associated with aging are becoming more serious. Older adults have earlier onset of chronic diseases and suffer more disability. Therefore, it is extremely important to promote active aging and enhance health literacy. These involves full consideration of the need for education and the provision of solutions to problems associated with aging. The development of OAE is an important measure for implementing the strategy of active aging, and curriculum construction is a fundamental component of achieving OAE. Various subjective and objective factors have limited the development of OAE. To overcome these difficulties and ensure both active and healthy aging, the requirements for active aging should be implemented, the limitations of current OAE should be addressed, system integration should be increased, and the curriculum system should be improved. These approaches will help to achieve the goal of active aging. This paper discusses OAE from the perspective of active aging, based on the promotion of health literacy and provides suggestions to protect physical and mental health among older adults, while promoting their social participation. The provision of various social guarantees for normal life in older adults is a new educational concept.

Irrelevant Gadgets or a Source of Worry

Wearable activity trackers are routinely applied in physical activity (PA) interventions in late life, but there is little research that focuses on older adults' perspectives on the technology. We conducted a qualitative study with 24 older persons to explore their perspective on wearables and PA. First, we discussed their relationship with PA and wearable trackers during focus groups. Next, nine participants crafted prototypes for wearables during co-design sessions. Through Thematic Analysis, we identified two main themes: (1) PA is personal in terms of preferred activities and reasons for PA, and (2) wearables are an emotional technology, causing negative emotions when resembling medical trackers or pressurizing to perform. We followed upon these results through a survey with 41 participants, which further highlighted individual differences in the perception of wearables. We conclude with questions to guide the design of wearables and reflect on their role to support PA in late life.

Theoretical Challenges and Social Inequalities in Active Ageing

Active ageing has been discussed in international political organisations and among researchers as a major means for combatting the challenges of demographic ageing. This study aims to make a critical-theoretical and empirical assessment of the active ageing concept, challenging the active ageing discourse from two different angles. First, an assessment of the theoretical framework of active ageing shows that the conceptual framework is undertheorised, lacks conceptual and analytical clarity, and fails to propose clear contributing factors and barriers. The second part presents an empirical analysis of the concept of active ageing guided by the following research question: is active ageing realistic—and for whom? Using Danish data subjected to multiple correspondence analysis, it is found that active ageing at the individual level is preconditioned by health, education, having good finances, etc. Furthermore, a Matthew effect of accumulated advantage is found; that is, older adults who are blessed in one sphere of life are also blessed in others, and such inequalities in old age are the outcomes of social life biographies (i.e., cumulative advantages/disadvantages over the life course). Thus, empirical findings indicate that active ageing may be an elusive goal for a large segment of older adults.

The Institutional Active Aging Paradigm in Europe (2002-2015)

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

The paradigm of active aging has been slowly gaining ground in Europe as the ideal framework for public policy and for responding to the population's aging. Taking the work by Rune Ervik as its point of departure, this article updates his conclusions on conceptualizations and policies of active aging by performing a study of the institutional discourses in the matter produced by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the European Union (EU).

METHODS

A corpus of 15 WHO, OECD, and EU documents published in the period 2002-2015 and tackling active aging were analyzed qualitatively through a combination of content and thematic analysis, based on a scheme integrated by deductive and inductive iterative manual and computerized codification.

RESULTS

The institutional discourses on active aging analyzed have not changed dramatically in the period considered. However, a divergent path has emerged regarding the accent placed on participation and contribution in the construction of the paradigm: the more socially productive and health-oriented WHO discourse is slowly separating from the more economically productive and labor-oriented discourses of the EU and OECD.

DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS

The institutional paradigm on active aging is evolving into a reductive treatment of a phenomenon that is multidimensional. International institutions and researchers should pay closer attention and forge a path toward an honest and critical examination of the real conditions and expectations of older people concerning the discursive and practical proposals of active aging, in all its different forms.