Promoting Healthy Aging Across the Lifespan

Worldwide there is a generalized trend toward aged societies. Between 2015 and 2050, the proportion of the world's population over 60 years will nearly double from 12% to 22%. As life expectancy continues to increase and natality rates lower, not only the composition of countries will change, but also its health landscape. However, an increased life expectancy does not necessarily mean a healthy life. In most high-income countries more than 20% of those years are lived in ill health due to chronic conditions caused by non-communicable diseases, which compromises functional ability and well-being - key components of healthy aging. In this way, not only people's lives but also societal structures are being affected.

Based on the life-course approach to healthy aging, aging starts from conception. In this regard, the promotion of healthy aging requires preventive strategies that enhance capacities during growth and development, maintain them for as long as possible after maturity, and slow down their rate of decline. Moreover, considering healthy aging across the lifespan entails focusing on different factors, life opportunities, and choices that might significantly influence health status, lifestyle as well as health and social inequalities in older age, and challenges the focus of most research on the topic, which exclusively investigates the effect of influences operating in the later stages of life.

Some current reports, such as the one developed within the WHO Platform Decade of Healthy Ageing have highlighted the pressing need to collect data on healthy aging across the lifespan as well as to optimize functional ability and to identify other key determinants for healthy aging. The active participation of key stakeholders, such as governments, but also older age groups in policy and decision-making processes is also needed for achieving a shift in the focus of healthy aging. Finally, social and health professionals will also need to adapt to the paradigm shift that implies the consideration of healthy aging across the lifespan, through the integration of key competencies that consider the core axes for ethical, up-to-date, and person-centered practice, considering the prevention and promotion focus.

This Research Topic focuses on research that highlights the life-course perspective of healthy aging across the globe. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

-The conceptualization of healthy aging across the lifespan;

-Determinants, needs, barriers, opportunities, and resources of those that age or aging societies;

-Inequalities in healthy aging;

-Interventions to promote healthy aging;

-Workforce capacity to promote healthy aging in aging societies;

Both quantitative and qualitative studies, as well as review papers, are welcome in Research Topic. The participatory focus of the studies will also be considered.