Measuring Active Ageing: A Scoping Review and the Applicability to the Situation in China

Abstract

Background and Purpose

Ageing has become one of the major global public issues and active ageing has become a global goal. Accurate and reproducible assessment tools are a prerequisite for robust and reliable measurement of active ageing and policy formulation. However, a broad scoping review describing the characteristics and heterogeneity of assessment tools for active ageing is lacking. This study aims to comprehensively portray current active ageing assessment tools and their features.

Methods

We conducted a scoping review, focusing on the Active Ageing Assessment Tool, and searched seven databases: CNKI, WanFang, PubMed, Embase, Web of Science Core Collection, Medline, and Proquest. The research process adhered to the methodological framework of Arkey and O’Malley and the PRISMA-ScR specification. More so, we registered the research program with the Open Science Framework.

Results

Ultimately, we included twenty-two pieces of literature. The development of the active ageing assessment tool predominantly occurred between 2012 and 2023, with a focus on foreign countries (16 studies). All included literature presented multidimensional Active ageing assessment tools. Eighteen studies examined active ageing assessment tools at the macro level, while four studies focused on the individual level. Also, fourteen out of the twenty-two studies were based on the World Health Organization’s Theoretical Framework for Active Ageing. The literature contained only two active ageing assessment tools designed for specific subgroups of older people.

Conclusion

Future development of active ageing assessment tools should integrate more comprehensive concepts and social theories of active ageing. Additionally, there is a need to explore active ageing measurement tools tailored for diverse subgroups of the older adults at various levels.