Introduction

Abstract

The World Health Organization once asked (2002): “As people are living longer, how can the quality of life in old age be improved? How do we help people remain active and independent as they age? How do we strengthen health promotion and prevention policies especially those directed to older people?” (Active Ageing: A Policy Framework, p. 5). The increase in the number of older people proportionate to that of the population has brought much focus into the study of old age. While the ageing of the population has been evident for most of this century, it has only been taken seriously by policy makers and planners in the last two decades. If by 2025, one-third of Europe will be aged 60 and over, and by 2050 half the population of Europe will be 50 or older, it is no wonder why policy makers have focused on this dramatic demographic change as this shift towards an ageing population will be one of the main contributors in shaping today’s and tomorrow’s economic and social developments. It is inevitably true that the demographic state of the world is changing and can be characterized by the shrinking number of young people; an increase in life expectancy and a dramatic drop in infant mortality. The consequences of such a demographic transition will have a tremendous impact on the economy, care, social development; welfare and well-being on all European member states (Agent et al., Healthy Ageing. A Challenge for Europe, 2006). It has emerged into such an important topic of concern that it has now become a worldwide phenomenon constructing fears in how the financial sustainability of pensions and social protection systems and the shrinking number of the workforce will support that of the ageing population (Stuart-Hamilton 2011). It is a phenomenon known to be seen by governments and policy makers as a “social problem” (MacIntyre 1997). A UN website related ageing “as a global demographic transformation [that it] has profound consequences for every aspect of individual, community, national and international life. Every facet of humanity will evolve: social, political, cultural, psychological and spiritual” (UN Programme on Ageing 2002).