Abstract
In 2030, 22% of Hong Kong’s total population will be aged 60 or older. Unfortunately, the Hong Kong Government still views ageing within the context of ‘disengagement theory’, and discussions of ‘Active Ageing’ remain scarce in Hong Kong. In order to define and advocate Active Ageing in our local context, and to urge the Government to plan comprehensively for the ageing society, we conducted a research (from 2007 to 2009) on the life patterns of active older people. Our objectives were to discover: (1) how active older people organized their everyday lives; and (2) how the urban environment enabled older people to maintain a quality lifestyle. Invited to semi-structured interviews, 50 informants had responded to a set of questions about their everyday life patterns. They also commented freely on the quality of their lives and the city’s degree of age-friendliness. We tried to categorize and analyze the daily life patterns of our informants according to the themes established by the Quality of Life model established by Gabriel and Bowling Ageing and Society, 24(5), 675–691 (2004) and that of Raphael et al. Health & Place, 7, 179–196. (2001). With the findings, we construct a schematic summary of ‘Active Ageing’ for the local context. We conclude that older people, when in good health and possessing sufficient resources, strive for a quality life filled with possibilities. Our research aims to help enact a ‘paradigm shift’ that goes beyond the disengagement theory, while establishing a context planning for the coming of the ageing society in Hong Kong.
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Notes
Our research team is composed of urban theorists and researchers, an anthropologist, and a landscape architect. Following an interdisciplinary research approach, we employed qualitative, people-centered research methods (McTaggart 1996; Moyer et al. 1999; Plummer 2000; Zuber-Skerritt 1996; blinded for review 2006; blinded for review 2008; blinded for review 2008) to discover how urban dwellers of different age groups experienced living in an urban environment. We hope that the present research can help initiate a ‘paradigm shift’ in the discussion of the ageing society.
The names of the organizations are listed in the section of acknowledgement.
According to the 2006 population by- census published by the Hong Kong Census and Statistic Department, among the population of older persons older than 65 (852,796), the percentage of which having attained secondary or higher education level is only 25. In respect to our informants, 20 out of 50 had attained tertiary level of education; 27 had attained secondary school education level; 2 primary school level and one person was an autodidact
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Acknowledgement
The stated research was funded by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (Central Research Grant Fundable Project), with the participation of the St. James' Settlement, the Caritas Community Centre, the Kowloon Methodist Church, the Church of Christ in China Wanchai Church, and the Elderly Mini-U Programme 2008 (organized by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Po Leung Kuk).
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Kwok, J.Y.C., Tsang, K.K.M. Getting Old with a Good Life: Research on the Everyday Life Patterns of Active Older People. Ageing Int 37, 300–317 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12126-011-9124-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12126-011-9124-1