Aging & Social Change: Tenth Interdisciplinary Conference

Abstract

Health interventions in old age are often approached taking into consideration objective measures of health such as life expectancy or functional autonomy. Conversely, subjective measures (well-being or vital satisfaction) are often considered simply a consequence of the objective ones. Due to this way of thinking, subjective indicators are not directly addressed in most interventions. Recent studies suggest that both measures may show some independence to one another. For instance, perceived well-being appears to be greater in the old adulthood than in younger adults, even though old adults suffer from “objectively” lower levels of health. Thus, I consider how health promotion and intervention strategies should change regarding this issue, finding an adequate middle ground between these approaches.