Healthy Ageing and Social Interaction: A Literature Review Report

This report delves into the multifaceted relationship between healthy ageing and social interaction. It begins with an introduction to the concept of healthy ageing, differentiating it from usual ageing and emphasizing the importance of social connectedness. A comprehensive literature review follows, tracing the historical background of the topic, including the social convoy model, and identifying key themes such as the influence of psychosocial factors like depression and self-esteem on healthy ageing. The review also examines patterns in social activity among older adults, the methods used in research, and agreements and disagreements in findings. A case study of a 78-year-old man illustrates practical applications of these concepts. The report concludes by summarizing the significant role of social interaction in promoting healthy ageing, highlighting the importance of further research and the need for diverse approaches beyond traditional surveys. The report underscores how chronic illness and depression are major factors impacting healthy ageing.

RUNNING HEAD: HEALTHY AGEING 1
Topic Name: - Healthy Ageing
Student Name: -
University Name: -

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Contents
1. Introduction............................................................................................................................3
2. Literature Review...................................................................................................................3
2.1 Historical Background....................................................................................................4
2.2 Key Themes.....................................................................................................................4
2.3 Patterns............................................................................................................................5
2.4 Agreement and Disagreement........................................................................................6
2.5 Approach to Research Design........................................................................................6
2.6 Strength and Weakness..................................................................................................7
3. Case Study...............................................................................................................................8
4. Conclusion...............................................................................................................................8
5. References...............................................................................................................................9

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1.Introduction
Older age is considered to be a period of impending disability and death. But older people
usually focus more on the optimistic phases of their life, and they try to maintain that phase. In
the work of Rowe and Kahn, they made a distinction between those people who go for usual
ageing and those who go for successful ageing. Usual ageing defined where there are diseases,
and the older people are prone to illness whereas successful ageing defined where the disease is
absent, maintenance of the function and also about the active engagement of life. The successful
ageing referred to as healthy ageing. Healthy ageing does not only refer to good physical health
it also includes good mental health, social and active engagement and also social connectedness,
which is the measure of total friends, relatives.
Social Interaction is a big part of the Healthy Ageing, and the social interaction has also become
a barometer for the measurement of this Healthy ageing. (Hodge et al., 2013)
The Social Interaction and Healthy Ageing topic are important because it gives us ample scope
to explore a wide range of methods and the causes of the healthy ageing and how it has changed
the life of the older men and how this healthy ageing will influence many lives in future.
2.Literature Review
In this context, we conducted a literature review on Healthy Ageing and Social Interaction and
how it has evolved over the past years and also how it will change the older age prospect in the
future years.

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2.1 Historical Background
In the year 1980, Kahn & Antonucci created a social convoy model which stated that social
support is very much important determinant of the well-being throughout life from the infant to
the old age. There are also several surveys where it has found that life expectancy has increased
out considerably in the coming ages, and the longevity has increased both in the case of male and
female. (Cherry et al., 2011)
2.2 Key Themes
While analyzing the research, we found that many methodical- focused tests were done on
different subjects with various age- groups but the primary focus was on the older age people. To
finding the research, many of the tests are conducted such tests contained different survey related
queries about their health, their social interaction, their social life. The people used to go to the
survey, and they asked a different question, and the older people wrote on papers the answers.
After thoroughly analyzing the question patterns there was a process to sort out, and the people
who are being involved in alcoholism, or undergoing any psychiatric treatment, or suffering from
the physical illness are being outstate from this survey. After analyzing the results many points
came up, and the main or the key findings were that psychosocial factors influence healthy
ageing and there are being many factors had been significantly influenced by depression,
participation in the leisure activities, perceived health status, ego integrity, self-esteem and self-
achievement influences healthy-ageing. (Han et al., 2015)
The other key themes that have spotted in the total methods is that mainly the older people have
suffered into three general related health conditions, which are the number of chronic diseases,
physical functions and depressive symptoms. This disease affects older people more who are
moderately and severely impaired.

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The social activity survey which we have conducted is that the most activity which is being
conducted by the adult people is friendship gathering, followed by religious and alumni
activities.
So, at the end of the methodical-focused tests, the key findings were that the older participating
in social activities is indicating good health. (Kim & Yoon, 2017)
2.3 Patterns
The patterns which are followed in the methodical study to find out the relationship between
social interaction and healthy ageing is by conducting a survey. A survey is a good medium to
know about the significant details. The pattern was first to identify the subjects and trying to
make them understand the importance of the survey and after convincing the next important
thing is to prepare the questionnaire of the survey. (Han et al., 2015)
The data sources are being needed to identify, and the measures are also needed to conduct the
survey. The following measures the basis of which questions are being needed to ask about the
health, social activities, covariates, data analysis, self-esteem, depression, ego-integrity, self-
achievement, participation in the leisure activities, and loneliness, etc.
Having the measures and the data sources to collect the data, the next process is of conducting
the survey and make the group ask the questions which have identified.
The next process is to analyze the data and separate the data and make them into separate results
so that the actual themes of the survey can found and the results being displayed out. (Kim &
Yoon, 2017)

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2.4 Agreement and Disagreement
Social Interaction and Healthy Ageing is an important agenda, so there are many results or
conclusion there may be some agreement or disagreement in these results. The agreement might
be that the older people tend to be much more social and it is also observed in the survey that the
older people who are more socially engaged with their friends or family are much healthier than
those persons who are not so socially active. The social interaction helps older people to be much
more active in their life. (Cherry et al., 2011)
But in contrary, there might be some disagreements such as the older people who are moderately
or severely impaired suffer from chronic disease, but there are other instances where we can see
that there are people who are not impaired those older men also suffer from chronic diseases.
Then people who are ill don't have any social interaction. In this scenario, it is not agreed
because many people are there who suffer from illness have been socially interacting with their
family members and also with their friends and relatives.
2.5 Approach to Research Design
The survey is conducted to know the social interaction and how these social interactions affected
the healthy ageing of the people so the approach was being simple and the approach was to know
what would be the best part for the older people to have healthy ageing. Healthy ageing is known
as the way to have better health, whether it is physical health or mental health. The approach was
a simple approach to know the details of a group of older men and to know about their aspects of
their physical health, mental health and the amount of social interaction they do in their daily life
and the research done through survey and the questions were very simple and it dealt with their
basic needs and daily life. (Hodge et al., 2013)

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There had been much observation when the research was conducted as to how factors had
prevented the healthy ageing and how these factors can also help out in the healthy ageing.
2.6 Strength and Weakness
The strength and weakness of the article are that though it deals with social interaction and
healthy ageing, and there are some strength and weakness in this review. The strength is as
follows
1. There have been many factors such as age, religion, educational background, residential
status and also the economic level has been an influential practice of the healthy ageing
2. Participating in social activities lead to right health conditions and vice versa.
3. The older people who are more prone to reading books, watching televisions, listening
radio, have been a part of the healthy ageing
4. The older people who have healthy ageing also try to incorporate them into different
social activities
Not only are the strong, but they're even some weakness in the following: -
1. The research conduct my survey doesn't always lead to correct results there may be some
disruptions of the results
2. Poor people do not have the right amount of money to be indulged in different social
activities, so there needs to some way so the poor people can have healthy ageing (Kim &
Yoon, 2017)

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3.Case Study
In the following case study, we see Mr Frederic Arum, whose age is 78 years is very lonely as
his wife died ten years ago, and he is living with his grandchildren. Though he is a retired
professor still, he is active after retirement, and he participates in different activities, but recently
he suffers from some joint and back pain. So the best advice is to socialize with a lot of people
and try to indulge yourself in different activities and also try to indulge himself in the gym where
he gets to socialize with different people together.
4.Conclusion
The present study investigates the Healthy Ageing and social interaction as to how this help to be
healthy and what is healthy ageing and how healthy ageing has influenced people in different
aspects. Though many factors have arrived but the factors of chronic illness, depression is the
major causes of the not healthy ageing.
Further research can conduct where the techniques need to be improved other than surveying
there must be much more techniques which can be helpful such as interacting with them
attending any seminars.
The topic was a fascinating one as it helped me to learn a lot about new topics and how the
healthy ageing and social interaction is significant in the life of the human beings and especially
the older people. (Kim & Yoon, 2017) (Hodge et al., 2013)

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5.References
Cherry, K. E., Walker, E. J., Brown, J. S., Volaufova, J., LaMotte, L. R., Welsh, D. A., …
Frisard, M. I. (2011). Social Engagement and Health in Younger, Older, and Oldest-Old
Adults in the Louisiana Healthy Aging Study. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 32(1),
51–75. https://doi.org/10.1177/0733464811409034
Han, K., Lee, Y., Gu, J., Oh, H., Han, J., & Kim, K. (2015). Psychosocial factors for influencing
healthy aging in adults in Korea. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 13(1), 31.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12955-015-0225-5
Hodge, A. M., English, D. R., Giles, G. G., & Flicker, L. (2013). Social connectedness and
predictors of successful ageing. Maturitas, 75(4), 361–366.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.maturitas.2013.05.002
Kim, D. E., & Yoon, J. Y. (2017). The Reciprocal Causal Relationship between Social Activities
and Health with Reference to the Cognitive Function Level among Community-dwelling
Older Adults: A Cross-Lagged Panel Analysis. Journal of Korean Academy of
Community Health Nursing, 28(1), 13. https://doi.org/10.12799/jkachn.2017.28.1.13