What does ‘super‐ageing’ mean to high‐functioning Australian older adults?

Abstract

AbstractBackground‘Super‐ageing’ has been used to refer to older adults who maintain high level cognitive abilities into advanced age. However, there is no universally accepted definition of this phenomenon and it is unclear what older adults think of the term, how it is defined and what benefits studying such individuals may bring.MethodInterviews and focus groups were conducted using a combination of in‐person meetings and online video conferencing with 8 overtly high‐functioning older community members aged between 81 and 101 living in Australia. Interviews were transcribed and thematically analysed.ResultKey themes were independence, having enough cognitive ability to ‘manage yourself’ and ‘do all the things you want to do’ (such things would be different for each individual), contributing meaningfully to society and remaining engaged particularly with younger members of the community. For this group, it was important to not be physically incapacitated or in chronic pain but physical challenges could be coped with if cognition was intact. Longevity in itself was not important. Some elders emphasised broader concepts of valuing older individuals in society, the necessity of individuals and societies to prepare for the challenges of ageing and the notion of being a role model to younger adults.ConclusionSuper‐ageing is a highly individual construct to this small sample of high‐functioning older adults. Functional independence is central but lacking in most research definitions. Some elements that are very important for these older people, such as living a meaningful life or being socially engaged, have not been considered in existing definitions.