Spacing and ageing: activating older people in health promotion

Background. Health promotion for older people oftentimes takes place in the urban setting, close to where older people live. Of the 1.8 million inhabitants in the city of Vienna, 22% are older than 60 years of age. Health-promoting services should be developed in a low-threshold manner and be adequate for different older target groups in an urban setting. The increasing heterogeneity of age and the inclusion of non-active older people, however, pose challenges to health-promoting services. Often only fractions of older people are addressed and reached. Objective. The project "Gesund alter werden in Wien" focuses on health promotion as a topic of ageing taking into consideration aspects associated with spacing. Older people have a diverse range of mobility and activity behaviours in urban areas. Results. Results of the 27 walk alongs and 30 interviews with older people in Vienna show differences in a person's spacing and ageing in place in three categories: perception of the area, activity and participation. Also, service development and use are described differently depending on the respective district (i.e. in inner and outer districts). Older adults can be typified by different types of activity: (1) full activity, (2) expandable activity, (3) activity despite handicap, (4) loss of activity. This again has implications for reaching target groups in health promotion and neighbourhood work. Conclusion. The use of this typology can support health-promoting services to refine their strategies to address the target group of older people.