Active Aging Policies Targeting Health and Care During the of COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review and Thematic Analysis of Italian National and Regional Policies.

A primary objective of active aging policies is to promote health and optimize care for individuals. In aging societies, the maintenance of good physical and mental health and the management of risk factors are of utmost importance. Few research studies have analyzed active aging policies related to health and care from a multi-level governance perspective. The aim of this study was to determine what national and regional policies in these domains existed in Italy. We conducted an inductive thematic analysis of health- and care-related policies on active aging, selected through a systematic review in 2019-2021. The analysis uncovered three themes at both the national and regional levels (health promotion and disease prevention, health monitoring, and informal caregivers) and two additional themes at the regional level (access to health and social care services, and mental health and well-being). According to the findings, COVID-19 partially influenced the evolution of active aging policies.

Changes in Volunteering of Older Adults in the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Motivations.

This paper elucidates the relationship between possible changes in volunteering experienced by older people during the COVID-19 pandemic, and their motivation to volunteer, as well as the direct or indirect experience of COVID-19 symptoms. Given the well-known positive benefits of volunteering in older age both for individuals (in terms of improved health and wellbeing) and society at large, there is a paucity of studies on older volunteers in the time of COVID-19. In this context, older people's volunteering was highly challenged due to age-based physical and social restrictions put in place by national governments, which have been considered as ageist by a large part of the gerontological scientific community. This study was carried out on a sample of 240 Italian older volunteers. The results suggest that during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially older volunteers driven by social goals (e.g., opportunities to have relationships with others) were able to continue volunteer activities without needing to change them. The study also clarified that having directly or indirectly experienced COVID-19 symptoms did not influence changes in voluntary activities of older people. These results have important policy implications, given the indication that through volunteering, older individuals may try to counter the undesired calls by the governments for self-isolation and physical distancing. It is important that in emergency situations involving older people, policy makers should not treat them as only recipients of health and social care, but also as useful providers of help in the community.

Active Ageing in Italy: An Evidence-Based Model to Provide Recommendations for Policy Making and Policy Implementation.

In ageing societies, active ageing (AA) has been recognized as a useful conceptual tool due to its holistic approach to social issues and recognised benefits from it at multiple levels (micro, meso and macro) for addressing demographic challenges. However, one of the main problems identified in relation to AA, is to turn into practice, at the policy making level, the many positive aspects that it promises at the conceptual level, as is demonstrated by the available evidence based on experiences carried out in some European countries. As an advancement in this field, through an original research experience carried out in Italy between 2019 and 2021, this study for the first time provides a model for producing recommendations for policy making and policy implementation in the field of AA, by managing the main problematic aspects related to the operationalization, at the policy making level, of the AA concept, with the potential for replication in other countries. The main challenges were identified, as well as the way to deal with them through a model, for a proper operationalization of the AA concept, based, among other aspects, on a solid international framework concerning this matter, on a mainstreaming ageing approach (at the public policy level) and on a wide stakeholder participation through co-decisional tools. A multi-level (national-regional-local) perspective was adopted to consider cultural and geographical diversity, among other challenges.

Active Ageing in Italy: A Systematic Review of National and Regional Policies.

Active ageing is defined as the process of optimizing opportunities for health, participation and security in order to enhance quality of life as people age. The design of active ageing policies intersects with different overarching societal challenges, especially ageing populations, social rights and sustainability. However, there are no previous attempts to review active ageing policies in the light of these challenges and the international policy objectives and targets that are guiding the international community. The aim of this study is to systematically identify, review and analyse all national and regional policies on active ageing adopted in Italy, by applying a conceptual framework derived from main international policy initiatives in the three areas. The research was conducted in two stages. First, a case study analysis was carried out per each relevant national institution and regional government. Standardised interviews were combined with policy document search, selection and analysis. Second, we performed a policy analysis in the light of a conceptual framework adopted. This latter was composed by nine policy domains, selected and integrated from principles and objectives of three overarching international frameworks on ageing-i.e., the Regional Implementation Strategy (RIS) commitments of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA), social rights-i.e., the European Pillar of Social Rights and sustainability-i.e., the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development. Results pointed out that out of the identified nine policy fields, the major intervention areas by Italian policy makers concerned labour market participation, life-long learning, social and economic inequalities, health and well-being. Less attention had been given to issues such as gender and equal opportunities and sustainable cities. This systematic policy review is a milestone for understanding how active ageing policies contribute to address major societal challenges and what domains need further policy development.

Active Ageing: The Need to Address Sub-National Diversity. An Evidence-Based Approach for Italy.

While active ageing has emerged as a main strategy to address the challenges of population ageing in Europe, recent research has stressed the need to increase knowledge on within-country differences to promote active ageing through appropriate policy responses. This article draws on the Active Ageing Index (AAI) to capture recent trends in active ageing in Italy with a focus on sub-national diversity. To this end, we compute AAI breakdowns by region separately for men and women for four different years: 2007, 2009, 2012 and 2018. Then, we use linear regression to describe the geographical and sex-specific patterns of change in the AAI over the considered period. The results demonstrate the diversity of regional outcomes and trends in the active ageing of Italian men and women, indicating that the widening geographic gap deserves further consideration by national and regional authorities in designing and implementing active ageing policies. By showing the persistence of disparities in the value of the indicator to the disadvantage of women, results also suggest the need to further integrate both the gender dimension and the life-cycle perspective into active ageing strategies. This article provides an example of how the AAI can be used as a practical tool by policy makers to monitor active ageing trends and outcomes at the sub-national level, and to identify target areas that require further action.