Mature age workers have the potential to make a continuing economic and social contribution to Australia. The extent of this contribution will depend upon the ability of mature age workers to continue to work, and their interest in doing so. It will also be influenced by the changing nature of work and the attitudes of employers towards the value of mature age workers.
On a broad level, positive ageing is an individual, community, public and private sector approach to ageing that aims to maintain and improve the physical, emotional and mental well-being of older people. It extends beyond the health and community services sectors as the well-being of older persons is affected by many different factors including socio-economic status, family and broader social interactions, employment, housing, and transport. Social attitudes and perceptions of ageing can also strongly influence the well-being of older people, whether through direct discrimination or through negative attitudes and images.
The world's life expectancy is higher than ever, due to lower mortality rates in the young and because of death occurring later. In 1998, it is estimated that 10 percent of the worlds population was aged over 65 years. By 2021 this will have increased to 18 per cent and in 2051 it will be 26 per cent.
An important question is whether the improvement in life expectancy involves increasing years of healthy living, whether it involves increases in years of illness, or both?
Growing older is a positive experience for the majority of people. It can actually present areas of new opportunity for people later in their lives, and healthy lifestyle choices can make a difference.
Health promotion strategies should be inclusive of older people by allowing for individual abilities and preference.
Chronic diseases often take a number of years to develop, therefore health promotion and disease prevention activities are most beneficial if they occur over a person’s lifetime and people are encouraged to adopt healthy lifestyles from an early age.
However, health promotion and healthy lifestyles can make a difference even in the presence of chronic illness. It can prevent further complications, have an impact on current problems and lead to a better quality of life.
People’s cultural and linguistic backgrounds are crucial elements to be considered in determining appropriate healthy ageing strategies. There are some categories of people who require special attention to facilitate healthy ageing.
There are several key areas in promoting healthy ageing and preventing illness that could be given further consideration, including:
maintaining physical and mental health;
engaging in physical activity;
preventing falls and injury;
maintaining adequate nutrition;
detecting sensory loss early;
managing incontinence;
evaluating alcohol and other drug usage; and
undertaking further research and data collection.
There are areas which present as challenges in healthy ageing, including:
dispelling the negative myths around ageing;
convincing older people that healthy lifestyles have benefits;
determining the motivational factors to undertake healthy activities and turning
these into actions; and
promoting the design aspects of both communities and houses to foster healthy
lifestyles.
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