SucheHealth of Older Adults
By 2040, approximately 23 million people over the age of 65 will be living in Germany. In light of this, health promotion and prevention play a crucial role. Health is an important prerequisite for leading as independent and active a life as possible in old age. Even in advanced age, health-promoting measures have been shown to have a positive effect on mobility, independence, social participation, and quality of life.
This requires strengthening health literacy and promoting health and physical activity in the everyday settings of older adults. With the “Healthy and Active Aging” program, the Federal Institute of Public Health (BIÖG) is making an important contribution to this effort.
Healthy and Active Aging
The “Healthy and Active Aging” program provides independent, quality-assured information and resources for older adults, their family members, and community leaders.
Older adults and their relatives can find a wealth of information, practical tips, and materials on health topics such as dementia, nutrition, depression, and heat on the web portal and in the “kompakt.” series of brochures, which can be ordered free of charge.
Specialized information and expert reports on health promotion in older age are available specifically for multipliers. To facilitate networking among experts from academia, policy, and practice, BIÖG has been organizing regular national conferences since 2012 on current topics such as dementia prevention, promoting physical activity, and heat-related health protection for older adults.
The focus topic on dementia offers valuable information on risk factors and ways to prevent dementia. The emphasis is on practical, everyday measures to maintain cognitive health, such as through a healthy lifestyle, mental activity, and social participation.
Another focus of the program is on promoting physical activity among older adults, as physical activity is one of the most important factors in preventing illness and delaying the need for long-term care. In collaboration with experts from the fields of science, medicine, and sports, BIÖG has developed the physical activity programs “AlltagsTrainingsProgramm” (ATP) and the “Lübecker Modell Bewegungswelten” (LMB). The programs are aimed at older adults of all ages who want to incorporate more physical activity into their daily lives.
To simultaneously make municipalities – as key settings for older adults – more exercise-friendly, the “Impulsgeber Bewegungsförderung” initiative was developed with financial support and in cooperation with the Association of Private Health Insurance (PKV). Since early 2022, BIÖG has been using a digital planning tool to provide targeted support to municipalities in establishing and expanding structures that promote physical activity.
When selecting and developing topics, BIÖG draws on scientific evidence, current research findings, relevant guidelines and laws. In addition, the programs, services, and projects in the area of “Healthy and Active Aging” are scientifically monitored and evaluated to develop, implement, and expand health promotion and prevention measures in a data-driven and objective manner.
In its work, BIÖG is supported by an interdisciplinary advisory board comprising specialists in the field of health promotion for older adults.
Internet Offerings
www.gesund-aktiv-aelter-werden.de
The online platform offers older adults and their families a wide range of information on topics such as dementia, depression, coronary heart disease, and hearing health, as well as practical advice for healthy eating and restful sleep, and suggestions for incorporating more physical activity into daily life. For professionals in local communities and the care sector, resources include scientifically validated findings on promoting physical activity among older adults of all ages, practical tools for implementing health promotion measures, and an extensive project database. In the media library, materials on topics such as healthy aging, physical activity in older age, and health and physical activity promotion for older adults can be downloaded or ordered free of charge.
www.impulsgeber-bewegungsförderung.de
To support municipalities in implementing measures that promote physical activity, Impulsgeber Bewegungsförderung offers
- interactive support through the process ranging from raising awareness and developing a mission statement, through needs and status assessments and strategy development, to actual implementation and evaluation;
- background materials (e. g. legal frameworks) and argumentation aids (e. g. fact sheets on age and physical activity promotion) to facilitate the work;
- tools for assessing current conditions and needs, such as questionnaires, audit tools, and information on citizen participation processes;
- a collection of projects featuring national best practices in physical activity promotion to serve as inspiration and
- an evaluation service to analyze surveys and present the results.
