Waddell Chloe, Van Doorn George, Power Garry, Statham Dixie
Institute of Health and Wellbeing, Federation University Australia, Ballarat, Victoria, Australia.
Health Innovation and Transformation Centre, Federation University, Ballarat, Victoria, Australia.
Gerontologist. 2024 Dec 13;65(1). doi: 10.1093/geront/gnae109.
Since the term "successful ageing" was coined, diverse models and theories conceptualizing what it means to age successfully have been proposed. The current article outlines evidence suggesting that the use of "success" in conjunction with "ageing" is contentious, and thus, "ageing well" is recommended as an alternative term. This article also highlights the lack of consistency in approaches to successful ageing and argues for a more inclusive conceptualization of ageing well. To achieve this, the current article summarizes the fundamental characteristics of several popular models of ageing successfully, demonstrating the unique contributions of each and highlighting recurring themes. The most common themes in existing models of successful ageing include the importance of engaging in social relationships, good cognitive and physical functioning, the avoidance of disease and disability, and resilience. Although commonalities exist, a consensus regarding an accepted definition of successful ageing is yet to be reached. To illustrate the need for consensus, policy approaches to support ageing populations by several governments are compared, highlighting the need for researchers to provide clearer guidance to policy-makers. In addition, not all existing models are sensitive to the diversity of the ageing population, further emphasizing the need to reconsider what it means to age well. The development of a consensus understanding of ageing well will improve the ability of researchers, as well as policy-makers and client-facing workers, to effectively target areas that contribute to, and improve, individuals' ability to age well.
自从“成功老龄化”这一术语被创造出来后，人们提出了各种模式和理论来概念化成功老龄化的含义。本文概述了一些证据，这些证据表明将“成功”与“老龄化”结合使用存在争议，因此建议使用“健康老龄化”作为替代术语。本文还强调了成功老龄化方法缺乏一致性，并主张对健康老龄化进行更具包容性的概念化。为了实现这一点，本文总结了几种流行的成功老龄化模式的基本特征，展示了每种模式的独特贡献，并突出了反复出现的主题。现有成功老龄化模式中最常见的主题包括参与社会关系的重要性、良好的认知和身体功能、避免疾病和残疾以及恢复力。尽管存在共性，但尚未就成功老龄化的公认定义达成共识。为了说明达成共识的必要性，本文比较了几个政府支持老年人口的政策方法，强调研究人员需要为政策制定者提供更明确的指导。此外，并非所有现有模式都对老年人口的多样性敏感，这进一步强调了重新思考健康老龄化含义的必要性。对健康老龄化形成共识性理解将提高研究人员、政策制定者以及面向客户的工作人员有效瞄准有助于并改善个人健康老龄化能力的领域的能力。
