Active aging: reception and appropriation by older people and professionals. A qualitative case study in Spain

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article examines the concept of active aging (AA) empirically, focusing on the viewpoint of older people and of professionals involved in the implementation of AA programs. A qualitative study based on interviews performed in a local community in Spain found that both convergence and divergence patterns are shown by older people and professionals in their reception and appropriation of the AA concept. The authors also discuss concordance and discordance between the institutional and individual narratives concerning AA. The institutional discourse on AA has reached the local level and shapes some of the narratives and practices of older people and professionals, but these agents display heterogeneous and even opposing patterns in their reception and appropriation of that discourse. The presence of such a wide range of AA narratives at the local level deserves closer attention by policymakers in their efforts to promote AA. The following four main lessons may be withdrawn from this research: local AA story lines deserve closer attention by policymakers; local reception and appropriation of AA is still in an early stage; greater awareness of undesirable impacts from AA policies is needed; top-down active AA are not likely to be fully effective.