| dc.description.abstract | This report provides a range of examples on how the Active Ageing Index (AAI) can be used as a practical tool by policymakers, researchers and other interested parties to identify areas where appropriate policies can realise the active potential of older people. To this end, the conceptual framework underlying the AAI follows a multidimensional perspective. It takes into account the different forms through which older persons contribute to society and economy – by means of paid or voluntary work, informal care, political participation, or by keeping healthy, informed and independent lifestyles even at an advanced age. It also considers environmental factors which enable them to be more active (such as, for instance, the educational and care systems, or the different infrastructures promoting well-being, social cohesion and digitalisation).
Reflecting this approach, the AAI consists of twenty-two indicators grouped into four domains: Employment; Participation in society; Independent, healthy and secure living; and Capacity and enabling environment for active ageing. While the first three domains aim to capture experiences and achievements, the fourth tries to quantify the contextual conditions enabling or hindering active ageing. By doing so, the AAI compels us to look at population ageing in a comprehensive and multifaceted way, thus preventing unilateral and limiting – if not discriminatory – approaches. As a result, it contributes to making older people’s contribution to society more visible, and also helps policymakers and other stakeholders understand which areas present more challenging situations, thus requiring more effective interventions to accomplish a societally more balanced ageing experience. | en_US |
