Active Ageing Research Trends and Population Policy in Iberoamerica: A Critical Review

The concept of active ageing is being used in recent decades as a line of research in ageing of population studies and as an instrument of public policy, especially since its adoption by the WHO to strengthen health, social participation and security of older people as pillars of quality of life. Despite its increasing use, defining active ageing is a complex task as it is related to various theories, constructed from multiple contents and their interactions, linked to other concepts used synonymously and sometimes interoperable (healthy, productive, successful ageing, ...) and operated following various strategies in both the scientific and public policy design.

The aim of this proposal is to conduct a critical review of the scientific literature on active ageing in relation to other forms of ageing (healthy, productive, successful) in the Iberoamerican settings and in the field of Social Sciences research, to delimit its use, contents, indicators and measurement instruments and the usefulness of its application in order to clarify the confusion to which it is subjected.