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Comprehensive Strategies for Health Promotion for Older People: Past Lessons and Future Opportunities
Author(s) -
Nutbeam Don
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
australasian journal on ageing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.63
H-Index - 34
eISSN - 1741-6612
pISSN - 1440-6381
DOI - 10.1111/j.1741-6612.1998.tb00051.x
Subject(s) - health promotion , population health , scope (computer science) , general partnership , public relations , government (linguistics) , action (physics) , business , social determinants of health , population ageing , resource (disambiguation) , population , political science , public health , medicine , environmental health , nursing , finance , quantum mechanics , computer network , linguistics , philosophy , physics , computer science , programming language
. This paper highlights the need for comprehensive health promotion strategies to meet the specific needs of older people. It traces the recent history of efforts in Australia to promote the health of older people, concluding that currently there is no comprehensive, nationally agreed strategy with a significant resource allocation directed towards this end. It is argued that a population‐based strategy is needed, which is built on an analysis of health priorities for older people, and which is comprehensive in scope, acknowledging the importance of economic, social and environmental determinants of health. A health outcomes framework for the development of strategy is presented. This incorporates the broad range of determinants of health among older people and provides a mechanism for linking health outcomes to health promoting actions. The paper concludes that progress in promoting the health of older people in Australia will be best achieved by governments working effectively in partnership with older people, particularly through existing non‐government organisations; by adoption of an expanded framework for analysing priorities and taking action; and through improved networking and sharing of information on the special needs and priorities for action with this population group.