Optimizing Tailored Health Promotion for Older Adults

Abstract

Objective: This study explores older adults’ perspectives on healthy living, and their interactions with professionals regarding healthy living. This perspective is necessary for health professionals when they engage in tailored health promotion in their daily work routines. Method: In a qualitative study, 18 semi-structured interviews were carried out with older adults (aged 55-98) living in the Netherlands. The framework analysis method was used to analyze the transcripts. Results: Three themes emerged from the data—(a) healthy living: daily routines and staying active, (b) enacting healthy living: accepting and adapting, (c) interaction with health professionals with regard to healthy living: autonomy and reciprocity. Discussion: Older adults experience healthy living in a holistic way in which they prefer to live active and independent lives. Health professionals should focus on building an equal relationship of trust and focus on positive health outcomes, such as autonomy and self-sufficiency when communicating about healthy living.

Supporting Older People to Live Safely at Home – Findings from Thirteen Case Studies on Integrated Care Across Europe

“…However, as also suggested by previous studies, our findings showed that older people may not always be receptive to proactive detection of risks and needs -that is, they are not always willing to anticipate future needs and can perceive attempt to encourage this as patronising [38,44]. Confidential relationships between older people and professionals, which are built on trust and tailored to people's needs, seem to be key to the success of such a proactive approach to care and support [38,[44][45][46]. Enabling professionals to cultivate such relationships, and ensuring they have adequate time to provide advice and communicate with older people about preferences and experiences, should therefore be an important aspect of integrated care services that aim to effectively address older people's safety.…”

High on Walking: Conquering Everyday Life

“…This is consistent with a study by Combs and colleagues (2013) who found that stroke patients’ wish to be walking farther was associated with the possibility of engaging in former activities and walking faster was associated with an improved walking ability. Also, Marcus-Varwijk and colleagues (2016) found that older adults prefer to live an active life and to be independent.…”

Older people living at home: experiences of healthy ageing

“…The need to feel and be independent was crucial and has also been described by Van Leeuwen et al (2019) and Halaweh et al (2018) showing that being independent allowed older people to feel free, enjoy a fulfilled life and hence, improve their quality of life. Healthy ageing is also described as associated to each person´s responsibility regarding their own independency (Marcus-Varwijk et al, 2016;Ten Bruggencate et al, 2018).…”

“…Research suggests that strategies on healthy ageing and the development of age-friendly environments are necessary (Lloyd-Sherlock et al, 2012;Dattilo et al, 2015). The systems are often developed in specialized contexts (World Health Organization, 2015;Beard et al, 2016) and are thereby understood as such, as needs, expectations and opinions are described from the professional's' perspective rather than that of the old persons (Derksen et al, 2012;Marcus-Varwijk et al, 2016). Lette et al (2017) showed that old persons still living at home had different views about what was important in life compared to that of health care professionals.…”