Facilitators and barriers to active and healthy aging

Abstract

The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) was approved by the World Health Assembly in 2001. Ten years later, we have seen strong arguments on how the ICF can add value to the policies on active ageing and to investigating outcomes in healthy aging. As a conceptual framework, the ICF has universality because of its inclusive and comprehensive view of human functioning. At a practical level the ICF can be used to quantify the impact of impairment on an individual’s ability to function in his/her environment and to assess interventions to minimize the impact of disability and maximize functioning. Health Promotion supports the notion that being healthy isn’t just about ‘not being sick’ or physically unwell, it takes a bio-psycho-social view towards health, acknowledging that good health involves supportive environments, and social and emotional factors that affect health and well-being. Active aging is the process designed toward increasing and maintaining an individual’s participation in activities to enhance his/her quality of life (WHO, 2001). The ICF gives a broad perspective and structured way to identify underlying facilitators and barriers to participation of THE elderly; there are several individual factors, like advanced lower extremity capacity, depressed mood, physically active lifestyle or cognitive function and environment factors, like assistive technologies, employment or rural living. Our aim is to address the advantages, opportunities and challenges, and limitations of ICF within the context of its use by active aging researchers and agents to generate discussion and contribute to developing potential solutions to promote active aging.