Engaging older people in healthy and active lifestyles: a systematic review

In 2002, the World Health Organization emphasized the concept of active ageing to manage and increase the last third of life. Although many efforts have been made to optimize treatment management, less attention has been paid to health promotion initiatives. To date, few shared guidelines exist that promote an active life in healthy older targets. To fill this gap, we conducted a systematic review to map health promotion interventions that targeted an active and healthy ageing among older citizens. Articles containing the key term active ageing and seven synonyms were searched in the electronic databases. Because we were interested in actions aimed to promote healthier lifestyles, we connect the string with the term health. A total of 3918 titles were retrieved; 20 articles were extracted. 12 of the 20 studies used group interventions; five interventions targeted the individual level and three interventions targeted the community level. Interventions differed for the health focus of the programs, which ranged from physical activity interventions to social participation or cognitive functioning. Most of the studies aimed to act on psychological components. The review suggests that different interventions promoted for active ageing are effective in improving specific healthy and active lifestyles; however, no studies were concerned directly with a holistic process of citizen health engagement to improve long-term outcomes.