1. Health Promotion for older men and
women: 10 years on
Dr Briony Dow, Emma Renehan and Xiaoping Lin
National Ageing Research Institute (NARI)
Sue Hendy, Stephanie Harper and Dr Kathleen Brasher
Council on the Ageing (COTA)
IFA Conference Prague May 2012

2. Overview
– Madrid Plan and Active Ageing Framework
– Older people’s views of healthy ageing
– Main NCDs in Australia and risk/protective
factors
– Evidence re health promotion for older people
• Education
• Physical activity
• Volunteering
• Age friendly cities
– Summary and directions

3. WHO Madrid International Plan
of Action on Ageing
• Adopted at 2nd World Assembly on Ageing
April 2002
– “build a society for all ages”
– method for “mainstreaming ageing into
national policy agendas”
• Involve older people
• Needs assessment
• Policy and program formulation
• Implementation and evaluation

4. Active ageing
• Active Ageing Framework also launched in
2001
• “the process of optimising opportunities for
health, participation and security in order to
enhance quality of life as people age”

5. The Active Ageing framework
– Health
• Prevention of chronic disease and disability
• Reducing risk factors and increasing protective factors
throughout the life course
• Health and social services
• Education and training to caregivers.
– Participation
• Life long education and learning opportunities
• active participation in economic development
• formal and informal work and voluntary activities
• full participation in family & community life
– Security (social, financial and physical) & rights

6. Older people’s views
• Can have health problems and still “age well”
• Keeping active (mentally and physically)
• Enjoying life
• Keeping engaged
• Positive attitude
• Meaningful engagement
• Good relationships with
family and friends COTA volunteers discussing healthy ageing
• Physical activity important
• Financial security

7. What do we need to avoid?
• Leading causes of death 85+:
– Cardiovascular disease
– Respiratory disease
– Cancer
– Mental disorders (including dementia)
• Leading burden of disease (whole Pop)
– Coronary heart disease
– Depression and anxiety
– Type 2 diabetes
• Leading burden of disease (disability) 75+
– Dementia

8. Modifiable Lifestyle Risk factors
• Smoking
• Physical inactivity
• Inadequate diet
• Alcohol abuse
• Social isolation
Good evidence that modification of lifestyle
factors even at later life can reduce risk of NCDs

9. Health Promotion and older people
• Health = physical and mental health,
participation and security
– Active ageing framework
– Older people’s views
– Scientific evidence
– Active Ageing Framework provides useful framework
for broad based health promotion for older people

10. Social determinants of healthy ageing
• Education
• Income/employment
opportunities
• Gender
• Cultural diversity
• Capacity to
participate in
physical activity
• Environment WHO Active Ageing Framework

11. Health Promotion
• Education
• Physical activity programs
• Volunteering
• Age friendly cities
What is the evidence?

12. Health Education
• Most common form of health promotion
• Relies on health literacy
• Delivery methods
– Health professional (variable)
– Peer education (preferred)
– Mass media (effective <smoking)

13. Physical activity programs
• Physical activity guidelines
• Group based programs
– Benefit of social component
– Higher participation rates
– Increased physical activity
• Barriers – ageism, ageist stereotypes, built
environment, hard to reach groups

14. PA recommendations for older
Older people should: Australians
1. Do some form of PA regardless of – age, weight, health
problems, abilities
2. Be active every day in as many ways as possible
3. Accumulate at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity PA
on most, preferably all, days.
4. Start at a level that is easily manageable and gradually
increase.
5. But older people who have undertaken vigorous PA
throughout their lives can continue to do so in a manner
suited to their capability.

15. Volunteering
• Benefits:
– Morbidity
– Functional health
– Self reported health
– Life satisfaction
• Not all volunteering has equal benefit
– Benefit to others
– Supported (formal rather than informal)
– Social connection

16. Age Friendly Cities
• Started in 2005 by WHO, 33 cities
• Inclusion of older people in planning and
development (focus groups)
• Global Age Friendly Cities Guide
• Global Network
“to help cities see themselves
from the perspective of older
people in order to identify where
and how they can become more
age-friendly”

17. Summary
• Active Ageing Framework useful for understanding
health and older people
• Health promotion for older people still developing
field - needs
– Policy
– Programs
– Evaluation and research
– Older people led
• Evidence so far suggests that programs that are
multi-factorial (social, educational, activity based,
enable meaningful participation) have most benefit