Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Community and Physician, cilt.40, sa.1, ss.46-52, 2025 (Scopus, TRDizin)
With the development of preventive and curative health services in the world, life expectancy and the elderly population are increasing rapidly, but the increase in healthy life expectancy has lagged behind life expectancy. Although the global aging process has begun in high-income countries, the biggest change is experienced by low-and middle-income countries. The World Health Organization and the United Nations have declared the 2021-2030 period as the “Decade of Healthy Aging”, and Turkey has prepared the “Healthy Aging Action Plan and Implementation Program 2021-2026” within this scope, but services for the elderly population have been inadequate in many countries of the world and in Turkey. Healthy aging is defined as “the process of developing and maintaining functional ability that ensures well-being in old age”. Socioeconomic inequalities greatly affect the aging process; balanced and adequate nutrition, regular physical activity, avoiding tobacco use, participation in immunization and screening programs, accessibility of health and social care services, protection of mental and cognitive health, living in places where the environment inside and outside the home is safe and easy to reach, and prevention of falls are the determinants of healthy aging. For a healthy aging society; there is a need to create and implement evidence-based and sustainable health and social care service policies that adapt to demographic changes.