An review of the evidence-based interventions to promote healthy aging

This article provides an overview of the scientific knowledge on the evidence-based interventions to promote healthy aging among the general population aged fifty-five and over who are independent and who live in the community. It is based on the most recent reviews and has been conducted according to a systematic methodological approach.In all, thirty-one documents were selected and analyzed by double coding (five Cochrane reviews, three public health reports, and twenty-three review articles). The evidence identifies ten evidence-based interventions that can have an impact on elderly people’s health and/or that are major determinants for healthy aging. These include six universal prevention interventions for all elderly people that have no particular risk factors: physical exercise programs, mind-body interventions, cognitive stimulation interventions, intergenerational interventions, information and communication technology (ICT) interventions, and cultural interventions. Three evidence-based interventions target populations with a health and/or social risk: home visits, activity and mutual-aid groups, and food aid interventions. Finally, some counseling interventions have proven to be efficient, both in terms of universal prevention and targeted prevention. This review has therefore identified a relatively limited number of evidence-based interventions and health determinants, including very few environmental determinants (social and physical). These few encouraging evidence-based interventions have an impact on several determinants, states, and health problems at the same time, justifying a global and population-based approach in the field of prevention and the promotion of health among elderly people.