Local Promotion of Active Aging: Community Support and Well-being for People Aged 65 Years and Over

People are living longer than in the past. Although there is an increasing number of old people aging healthily, political and organizational innovations are needed to maintain their well-being at an older age. In Portugal, people aged 65+ represent 19% of the population (24% of those live at risk of poverty) and 60% live alone or exclusively with other elderly people. The challenge for public policies is to make social institutions and organizations adequate for the needs of the elderly. Considering the WHO proposal “Active Aging”, this research is focused on the local policies that seek to respond to the intensive and diverse issues of the Portuguese elderly. The objective is to analyze policies in a Portuguese community (Coruche) according to the active aging framework and 50+ year-old people’s characteristics. Data are from information about practices and policies. We aim to identify the role of policies, how organizations, institutions and specific devices provide conditions for the active aging of the Portuguese 50+ population, and how individuals can optimize their resources in order to age well and more healthily.