Understanding Healthy Ageing in the Korean Rural and Urban Elderly: an Application of Rowe and Kahn’s Model of Successful Ageing

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Author(s)
Primary Supervisor
Harris, Neil
Other Supervisors
Klieve, Helen
Sebar, Bernadette
Nam, Eun Woo
Year published
2014
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Elderly people are recognised as the fastest growing population globally (Lutz, Sanderson, & Scherbov, 2008). Although older age can be a time of increased affluence for some, it is also linked with challenges related to health issues and costs, aged-care requirements and the relinquishing of long held responsibilities and freedoms (Bongaarts, 2004; Borsch Supan, 2003). These trends are evident in Korea, which has one of the fastest growing elderly populations as well as a higher percentage of the elderly in rural areas, compared to urban settings. Despite the Korean government’s efforts to enhance quality of life and wellbeing ...
View more >Elderly people are recognised as the fastest growing population globally (Lutz, Sanderson, & Scherbov, 2008). Although older age can be a time of increased affluence for some, it is also linked with challenges related to health issues and costs, aged-care requirements and the relinquishing of long held responsibilities and freedoms (Bongaarts, 2004; Borsch Supan, 2003). These trends are evident in Korea, which has one of the fastest growing elderly populations as well as a higher percentage of the elderly in rural areas, compared to urban settings. Despite the Korean government’s efforts to enhance quality of life and wellbeing for the older population, existing government policies appear to have a limited capacity to cope with the rapidly increasing aged population and the context-specific needs of the elderly in rural and urban settings. One way to enhance current policies is by developing a comprehensive model of successful ageing. This is one of the most effective strategies to understand the health needs of the elderly. Among various successful ageing models, the one developed by Rowe and Kahn (1987, 1997) is one of the most influential conceptualisations. While this model overcomes previous restrictive biomedical views of ageing, it has some weaknesses, including limited consideration of psychological health and an overemphasis on physiological factors. In this regard, this study adapts this model to include psychological health as one of the dimensions and to test multiple definitions of ageing successfully. This extended model was used with the aim of examining the contributing factors of successful ageing in urban and rural Korean elderly and gaining a more in-depth perspective of how the elderly’s perceptions of ageing differ between these groups.
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View more >Elderly people are recognised as the fastest growing population globally (Lutz, Sanderson, & Scherbov, 2008). Although older age can be a time of increased affluence for some, it is also linked with challenges related to health issues and costs, aged-care requirements and the relinquishing of long held responsibilities and freedoms (Bongaarts, 2004; Borsch Supan, 2003). These trends are evident in Korea, which has one of the fastest growing elderly populations as well as a higher percentage of the elderly in rural areas, compared to urban settings. Despite the Korean government’s efforts to enhance quality of life and wellbeing for the older population, existing government policies appear to have a limited capacity to cope with the rapidly increasing aged population and the context-specific needs of the elderly in rural and urban settings. One way to enhance current policies is by developing a comprehensive model of successful ageing. This is one of the most effective strategies to understand the health needs of the elderly. Among various successful ageing models, the one developed by Rowe and Kahn (1987, 1997) is one of the most influential conceptualisations. While this model overcomes previous restrictive biomedical views of ageing, it has some weaknesses, including limited consideration of psychological health and an overemphasis on physiological factors. In this regard, this study adapts this model to include psychological health as one of the dimensions and to test multiple definitions of ageing successfully. This extended model was used with the aim of examining the contributing factors of successful ageing in urban and rural Korean elderly and gaining a more in-depth perspective of how the elderly’s perceptions of ageing differ between these groups.
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Thesis Type
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Degree Program
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School
School of Medical Science
Copyright Statement
The author owns the copyright in this thesis, unless stated otherwise.
Item Access Status
Public
Subject
Elderly people health care, Korea
Quality of life, Korea
Wellbeing, older persons, Korea
Successful ageing, Korea