The identification of gaps in secondary evidence on health promotion addressed to elderly persons

Background Increasing participation of elderly population in modern societies is a source of great challenges for health and social systems. Health promotion and disease prevention interventions may have a significant effect on health status of older people. The main objective of this paper is presentation of potential gaps in secondary evidence in the area of health promotion interventions addressed to audiences 65 years old or more (65+). Methods The results of the scoping review of secondary evidence on the effectiveness of health promotion and related interventions addressed to older adults (55+) and elderly persons (65+) published from 2000 to April 2015 were further explored. From these reviews, only these which analysed health promotion activities, combined with other general areas (primary prevention, screening, and/or social support) or alone, and designed for the subjects 65+ were selected. The analysis was focused on elicitation of publication trends and identification of targeted areas which were not or were addressed less frequently. Results Among 334 systematic reviews analysing the interventions related to health promotion, primary prevention, screening and social support, there were 66 which were classified to health promotion (as exclusive domain or in combination with other general area) and which were addressed specifically to persons of at least 65 years old. Potential areas which were covered the least frequently or not covered by reviews encompassed: addictions (n = 1), sleep quality (n = 1), psychosocial functioning (n = 1), social isolation (n = 0), social participation (n = 0) and elderly abuse (n = 0). Conclusions Although the secondary evidence on health promotion and related interventions addressed to population 65+ is growing, there are still blind spots not covered by adequate systematic review or/and meta-analyses. Identified deficient areas are potentially important for wellbeing of elderly persons in the context of social interactions. Key message: Although general issues included in health promotion strategies designed for elderly persons are adequately represented by secondary evidence, there are still important gaps in evidence