Abstract:

It was not so long ago that health was essentially understood as the absence of illness - a precious, heaven-sent gift outside of individual control. This idea - which contains an undeniable element of truth - still predominates in certain parts of the older population, where health is experienced as something already lost and so becomes a constant preoccupation, almost an all-consuming obsession, with continual recourse to medical or para-medical facilities. Alternatively, it is perceived fatalistically and with great anxiety as something best dealt with by ignoring it (not thinking about it, living as one has always lived). However, it is clear that older people today are no longer a homogeneous group. Many older people - as COFREMCA’ 81 researches have shown - not only "catch up with" or follow socio-cultural developments, but actively contribute to social change. They have also adopted a much more global and dynamic idea of health - a "resource" it is advisable to maintain in daily attitudes and activities, which extends beyond medicine and even beyond purely physical considerations. Further, being in good health means also remaining in complete possession of one’s mental faculties, being capable of communicating and having a rich emotional life.