Defining the relationship between active citizenship and rural healthy ageing

Abstract

This chapter aims to interrogate the relationship between active citizenship and rural healthy ageing. Individual demographic characteristics are also linked with active citizenship, with older people who are married and in the younger-old cohort more likely to be engaged. The chapter explores how active citizenship trends among rural older adults support or hinder the capacity of rural settings to support healthy ageing. It presents a conceptual framework for understanding the mutually constitutive and complex relationship between the civic activities of older rural adults and their capacity to age well in these environments. The role active citizenship plays in maintaining rural services and infrastructure that support healthy ageing is also pivotal in addressing the micro and macro-level factors that influence rural older people’s engagement in active citizenship, through providing opportunities and addressing constraints associated with involvement. Participation in active citizenship by rural older adults may bolster the capacity of rural settings to better support their ageing populations.