[Strengthening prevention and health promotion in and for old age]. / Prävention und Gesundheitsförderung im und für das Alter stärken.

BACKGROUND: Disease prevention and health promotion in and for old age have become increasingly more important. Nevertheless, more (national) research and implementation in practice is needed, as the international comparison shows. OBJECTIVE: To develop guiding principles for research and practice on prevention and health promotion in and for old age. MATERIAL AND METHODS: As part of an iterative process, members of the German Society of Gerontology and Geriatrics came together in workshops and symposia to formulate key guiding principles and fields of action for prevention and health promotion. RESULTS: The following were worked out: 1) prevention and health promotion are useful and possible up to oldest age, 2) prevention and health promotion for advanced age should start early, 3) prevention and health promotion must take into account the diversity and heterogeneity of the life situations of old people, 4) prevention and health promotion promote and demand self-determination and participation, 5) prevention of multiple illnesses must be given greater attention, 6) prevention of the need for long-term care and prevention in long-term care must be treated equally, 7) prevention and health promotion must be thought of in terms of life worlds and across sectors, paying particular attention to aspects of social inequality and a focus on resources, 8) prevention and health promotion and the related research must be interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary and be applied at different levels, from molecular to societal. DISCUSSION: The guiding principles outline the focal points of future-oriented ageing, health and healthcare research and open up fields of action but also show the limits of this approach for political decision-makers, researchers and practitioners.

The portrayal of older people's social participation on german prime-time TV advertisements.

OBJECTIVES: We investigated the portrayal of older people's social participation on TV advertisements according to a set of theoretically meaningful indicators from communication science and gerontology. METHODS: We examined a representative sample of 656 prime-time advertisements broadcast for a period of 2 weeks in 2005 in Germany. Five percent of the advertisements featured at least one older character. Each of the characters in the subsample was rated according to role prominence, viewer-character distance, employment status, openness to experience, social interactions, and loneliness. This portrayal was compared with the portrayal of younger characters appearing in the same commercials and with the portrayal of younger characters in commercials without an older character according to the same indicators. RESULTS: 4.5% of the characters were rated 60 years or older. Older characters were disproportionately featured in major roles, depicted as employed and open to new experience. Furthermore, older characters were most often depicted within intergenerational and nonfamily contexts. Older characters were kept at a greater camera distance than younger characters in "young commercials." DISCUSSION: Although rare, when older characters did appear, they were depicted as socially engaged. We compare this portrayal with real-world gerontological evidence and age stereotypes and discuss how the portrayal might affect viewers.