Huang Yu-Chi Kalesekes, Braun Kathryn L
Thompson School of Social Work & Public Health, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, 1960 East-West Road, Biomed D-209, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2025 Jan 18;22(1):123. doi: 10.3390/ijerph22010123.
Researchers have outlined the components of healthy aging, and a 2022 scoping review by Quigley et al. examined healthy aging from Indigenous perspectives. Quigley's review reinforced the notion that Indigenous health, and thus healthy aging, is a holistic concept. However, no review has specifically addressed Elderhood from an Indigenous perspective. This scoping review aimed to fill that gap by analyzing studies from Quigley's review and sourcing additional literature on Indigenous Elderhood. Eligible articles identified participants as Indigenous and described Elderhood within the culture. From the 20 included publications, six themes were identified, suggesting that Elderhood was a term limited to adults who were respected for their wisdom, were active in the community, cared for others, passed down Indigenous knowledge, and promoted a vision of the future that built on tradition. Age was not a criterion, as older people who are not seen as respected contributors do not earn the title of Elder. The findings suggest that achieving Elderhood is key to healthy aging for Indigenous adults, regardless of one's physical health status. Programs and policies offered in Indigenous communities should recognize this distinction. Further research should explore ways to support successful Elderhood, as defined here, as a component of healthy aging in Indigenous communities.
研究人员概述了健康老龄化的组成部分，奎格利等人2022年的一项范围综述从原住民的角度审视了健康老龄化。奎格利的综述强化了这样一种观念，即原住民健康，进而健康老龄化，是一个整体概念。然而，尚无综述专门从原住民角度探讨老年阶段。本范围综述旨在通过分析奎格利综述中的研究并获取关于原住民老年阶段的其他文献来填补这一空白。符合条件的文章将参与者确定为原住民，并描述了该文化中的老年阶段。从纳入的20篇出版物中，确定了六个主题，这表明老年阶段这一术语仅限于那些因其智慧而受到尊重、在社区中积极活跃、关心他人、传承原住民知识并推动基于传统的未来愿景的成年人。年龄不是一个标准，因为那些未被视为有贡献且受尊重的老年人不会获得长者的称号。研究结果表明，对于原住民成年人来说，成为长者是健康老龄化的关键，无论其身体健康状况如何。原住民社区提供的项目和政策应认识到这一区别。进一步的研究应探索支持如本文所定义的成功步入老年阶段的方法，将其作为原住民社区健康老龄化的一个组成部分。
