Abstract
ABSTRACT Purpose: The health perceptions of older adults with a lower socioeconomic status still seems to be unsettled. To gain more insight in these perceptions, 19 older adults were interviewed with the use of a photo-elicitation method. Methods: Participants reflected on ten photographs covering aspects of physical, social and mental health, and were also asked if and how they experience to have control over their health. Results: The results showed that the perception of health depended on the background of the participant, was experience-oriented and was mostly focused on the negative aspects of physical and mental health. Social contacts were an important contributor to well-being, especially when physical health declined. Although most participants seem hardly aware of having influence on their own health, several participants showed automatic self-management abilities. Conclusion: For participants who need more support to improve, or become more aware of their self-management abilities, interventions with an experience-oriented approach are needed.
Highlights
In a rapidly ageing population, maintaining a proper health status for as long as possible— referred to as “ageing healthy and successfully”—is an overall goal for older adults, health professionals, and policy makers (World Health Organization (WHO), 2020)
As Huber et al (2011) convincingly argued, the 1948 definition of the WHO is not suitable any more in an ageing society in which many people cope with chronic illnesses, because the WHO definition implies that a “complete” state of health should be achieved
Results suggested that the perception of health in older adults with a lower SES depended on the background of the participant, was predominantly experience-oriented and was mostly focused on the negative aspects and barriers of physical and mental health, such as physical limita tions and depression
Summary
In a rapidly ageing population, maintaining a proper health status for as long as possible— referred to as “ageing healthy and successfully”—is an overall goal for older adults, health professionals, and policy makers (World Health Organization (WHO), 2020). Positive health, according to various groups of stakeholders, can be conceptualized by six domains, covering aspects of physical, social and mental health (Huber et al, 2016) In these terms, positive health does not focus on a “complete state” of health but rather on the achievement of, and satis faction on, every domain for an individual. The study of Huber et al (2016) resulted in six domains comprising the concept of positive health, there were still remarkable differences between sta keholders, especially between patients and health professionals, about the relative importance of the various domains This indicates that the meaning and perception of health depends on the specific group to which respondents belong
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