Care and Active Ageing

Demographic ageing is one of the key social and political challenges of recent decades. There are a number of approaches to ageing, depending on whether the emphasis is placed on biomedical, social or political aspects. From a social perspective, the analysis of ageing requires us to ask how we age and how we can achieve this with quality of life. In an unequal society, ageing varies according to social class, gender, functionality, geographical region, health and social care, among other social dimensions. In the context of care and in accordance with the principles of active ageing, this chapter aims to analyse the perceptions, experiences and values of older people with regard to different forms of ageing and the ways of organising responsibility for the care. It also includes the views of institutional managers and members of civil society organisations. The paradigm of care applied in this study, that reflects on the daily maintenance of the world, of our bodies, of our environment and of our lives, contributes to the concept of active ageing. In addition, the notion of vulnerability allows to acknowledge interdependencies and diverse functionality. The relationships identified in this work between care and active ageing help to deepen the significance of the pillars of health, participation, safety and lifelong learning, which is drawn from the interviews conducted for this study. Self-care and self-determination were identified as central in the process of advancing towards an expanded definition of active ageing with regard to care.