Title

The institutional active aging paradigm in Europe (2002-2015)

Authors

Raúl López-López, Mariano Sánchez

Author Affiliations

Facultad de Ciencias Políticas y Sociología, University of Granada, Spain

Publication Information

Gerontological Society of America

Date of Publication

April 2020

Series/Report no.

The Gerontologist, Volume 60, Issue 3

Key words

Policy, Qualitative research, Positive aging, Institutional discourse

Abstract

Background and Objectives

The paradigm of active aging has been slowly gaining ground in Europe as the ideal framework for public policy and for responding to the population’s aging. Taking the work by Rune Ervik as its point of departure, this article updates his conclusions on conceptualizations and policies of active aging by performing a study of the institutional discourses in the matter produced by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the European Union (EU).

Methods

A corpus of 15 WHO, OECD, and EU documents published in the period 2002–2015 and tackling active aging were analyzed qualitatively through a combination of content and thematic analysis, based on a scheme integrated by deductive and inductive iterative manual and computerized codification.

Results

The institutional discourses on active aging analyzed have not changed dramatically in the period considered. However, a divergent path has emerged regarding the accent placed on participation and contribution in the construction of the paradigm: the more socially productive and health-oriented WHO discourse is slowly separating from the more economically productive and labor-oriented discourses of the EU and OECD.

Discussion and Implications

The institutional paradigm on active aging is evolving into a reductive treatment of a phenomenon that is multidimensional. International institutions and researchers should pay closer attention and forge a path toward an honest and critical examination of the real conditions and expectations of older people concerning the discursive and practical proposals of active aging, in all its different forms.

주요 내용

Active aging의 패러다임은 공공 정책과 인구의 고령화에 대한 이상적인 틀로서 유럽에서 서서히 자리를 잡아가고 있다.

해당 논문은 Rune Ervik의 작업을 출발점으로 삼아 세계보건기구(WHO), 경제협력개발기구(OECD), 유럽연합(EU)이 제기한 문제에 대한 제도적 담론을 연구함으로써 Active aging 개념화와 정책에 대한 결론을 내린다.

ISSN

17585341
00169013

DOI

10.1093/geront/gnz094