The concept of health in older age: views of older people and health professionals.

Melita J. Giummarra, Betty Haralambous, Kirsten Moore, Joan Nankervis

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

18 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This study aimed to explore how older people and health professionals conceptualize health in older age. Thirty-six older people and 41 health professionals participated in 10 focus groups (five with older people and five with health professionals) and discussed concepts of health, the modifiable aspects of health, and barriers and motivators to undertaking health-promoting behaviour change. Both older people and health professionals were found to conceptualize health in a holistic manner. While health professionals tended to place the source of poor health on failures of social connectedness and poor service delivery, older people stressed the importance of taking ownership of one's own health and actively seeking out health promoting activities and services.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)642-650
Number of pages9
JournalAustralian Health Review
Volume31
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2007
Externally publishedYes

Cite this