The Active Aging Approach as a Solution to the Aging Population: Criticisms and Suggestions for a Possible Index for Turkey
Seyran Gürsoy ÇuhadarAlthough aging is as old as human history, the aging of whole societies is new. All demographic indicators show that Turkey, with its rapidly aging population, has reached the last stage of demographic transformation and can be classified as an old-age country. Aging issues do not matter only in Turkey; what is distinct in the Turkish context is the fact that it started facing its aging population problem 27 years ago, while Europe has already been experiencing the process of demographic transition for about a century. Thus, Turkey must face the problems resulting from its rapidly aging population without reaching an adequate level of prosperity and wealth. The World Health Organization and the United Nations have offered solutions to encourage and sustain a healthy and active aging population. The active aging approach is one of the leading policy suggestions. Active aging is defined as the process of increasing opportunities for health, participation, and security in order to improve the quality of life as people age. Active aging is an identified target for societies and an Active Ageing Index has been created in this context. Through the Active Ageing Index, elderly individuals can potentially sustain an independent living, engage in paid work, and participate in social activities; and then it is possible to measure the extent of active aging undertaken. By comparing other country’s examples, the Active Ageing Index also offers a framework for improving policy spheres noting high priorities for policymakers. Thus, the study aims to offer recommendations for Turkey in the context of active aging. Given Turkey’s rapidly aging population, the main priorities should focus on developing policy solutions and initiating measures that take into account the data produced through policy approaches, such as the Active Ageing Index, informed by the socioeconomic, cultural, and social structures of the country. It is possible to suggest that indexes developed by taking into account the social structure of Turkey will produce more viable results for similar studies. In addition, with the awareness that aging is a multi-dimensional phenomenon, more studies on aging are needed and integrated social policies relying on data should be initiated and developed.
Yaşlanan Nüfusa Çözüm Önerisi Olarak Aktif Yaşlanma Yaklaşımı: Eleştiriler ve Olası Endeks için Türkiye Önerileri
Seyran Gürsoy ÇuhadarYaşlanma olgu olarak insanlık tarihi kadar eski olsa da, toplumların yaşlanmasının tarihi yenidir. Tüm demografik göstergeler, Türkiye’nin demografik dönüşümün son aşamasına geldiğini ve hızla yaşlanan nüfusuyla artık yaşlı ülke sınıflamasına dâhil olduğunu göstermektedir. Kuşkusuz toplumların yaşlanıyor olması Türkiye’ye özgü bir olgu değildir. Türkiye’ye özgü olan, Avrupa’da yüzyılı bulan demografik geçişin, Türkiye’de 27 yıl gibi çok daha kısa sürede gerçekleşecek olması ve bu bağlamda Türkiye’nin yaşlanma kaynaklı sorunlarla yeterince zenginleşemeden yüzleşmek zorunda kalacak olmasıdır. Bu noktada Dünya Sağlık Örgütü ve Birleşmiş Milletler gibi uluslararası kuruluşların, sağlıklı ve aktif yaşlanan bir nüfusu teşvik etmek için çözüm önerileri sundukları bilinmektedir. Aktif yaşlanma yaklaşımı bu önerilerin başında gelmektedir. Aktif yaşlanma, insanların yaşlandıkça hayat kalitelerini iyileştirmek amacıyla bu kişilere yönelik sağlık, katılım ve güvenlik konusundaki fırsatların yükseltilme süreci olarak tanımlanmaktadır. Aktif yaşlanma, toplumlar için hedef olarak gösterilmiş ve bu kapsamda aktif yaşlanma endeksi oluşturulmuştur. Aktif yaşlanma endeksi ile yaşlı bireylerin bağımsız yaşama, ücretli istihdam ve sosyal etkinliklere katılım düzeyleri ile aktif olarak yaşlanma potansiyelleri ölçülmektedir. Endeks aynı zamanda ülke kıyaslamaları yaparak, politika yapıcılara geliştirilebilir öncelikli alanları da göstermektedir. Buradan hareketle çalışma, aktif yaşlanma bağlamında Türkiye için öneriler oluşturmayı hedeflemektedir. Bu çerçevede Türkiye’nin öncelikle yapması gereken, çok hızlı yaşlanan bir ülke olduğu gibi bugün itibariyle de zaten yaşlı bir ülke olduğu gerçeğini kabul etmesi ve gerekli önlemleri alırken, ülkenin sosyo-ekonomik, kültürel ve toplumsal yapısını da göz önüne alan aktif yaşlanma endeksi benzeri araçlarla elde edilen verilerden hareket etmesidir. Türkiye’nin toplumsal yapısını temel alarak geliştirilen endekslerin, benzer çalışmalar için daha sağlıklı sonuçlar vereceğini söylemek mümkündür. Bununla birlikte yaşlılığın çok boyutlu bir olgu olduğu bilinciyle, yaşlılık çalışmaları artırılmalı ve veriye dayalı bütünleşik sosyal politikalar üretilmelidir.
Demographic transformation theory, which states that the demographics of countries will move from high to low fertility and mortality rates, claims that all societies will inevitably go through these stages. According to this theory, demographic transition will take place first in Europe and North America, then in Asia and Latin America, and most recently, in Sub-Saharan African countries. Indeed, throughout the 20th century, Continental Europe has witnessed the transformation of its aging communities, and today, Turkey is rapidly going through the final stage of its demographic transition. Similar to Europe, the demographic transformation process of Turkey is composed of falling birth rates, a decline in the mortality rate, extended life expectancy, and differing migration processes. According to the most recent data (2019), fertility rates in Turkey (1.99) have fallen below the replacement level of the population (2.1), life expectancy at birth is prolonged (78.3), and especially with the adopted “open door” immigration policy, Turkey has become a migration receiving society. All these factors significantly affect the structure of Turkey’s population. In this sense, with an aging population of more than 7.5 million, Turkey seems to be classified as an elderly country.
If societies are prepared enough for the aging process (for example, having a certain level of wealth directed toward social welfare), social aging may not be a problem. Unfortunately, Turkey is facing an aging population problem without raising its level of social welfare. There are many questions that Turkey needs to answer, such as how individuals stay independent and active as they age, how to strengthen their health and social protection systems, how to improve the quality of life of individuals in prolonged life, and how to maintain a state‒family balance in elderly care. This situation is, of course, not only peculiar to. In particular, European countries, which completed this demographic transition earlier than Turkey, can be a role model for Turkey in this process.
However, international organizations such as the World Health Organization) and the United Nations are also developing policy recommendations advocating that societies take precautions for their aging populations. The active aging approach is one such policy recommendation. The most comprehensive and most commonly used definition of active aging by the WHO is the process of increasing the opportunities for health, as well as the participation and safety offered to individuals in order to improve the quality of life as they age. Active aging adopts a rights-based approach, giving people the right to equal opportunities in all areas as they age. While helping people realize their potential for physical, social and cognitive wellbeing throughout their lives, the active aging approach emphasizes the provision of adequate protection, safety, and care when needed. In order to achieve this goal, an Active Ageing Index was created, in which the current situation for aging individuals is determined, the potential of the elderly to engage in activities of active aging is measured, and social policies are developed within this scope. The Index is defined as a tool for policymakers to develop data-based strategies to produce solutions to problems arising from the aging of the population. The Index aims to reveal the priority areas to a country by making comparisons of its components with other countries. The Active Ageing Index consists of four main parameters and sub-components of these parameters, with categories of Employment, Participation in Society, Independent Healthy and Secure Living, Capacity, and Enabling Environment for Active Ageing. The first three parameters refer to various activities involving older individuals, as well as real experiences that reflect independent, autonomous and safe living experiences; while the last parameter emphasizes the potential for active aging based on the individual’s own characteristics, as well as environmental factors that can make active aging easier or more difficult. Hence, the Active Ageing Index is advisable for use to analyze the current situation in Turkey for the elderly. However, at this point in Turkey, specific issues should not be ignored. Some revisions to the parameters of the Active Ageing Index are recommended, which has many features that differ from European countries’ experience in a socioeconomic, cultural, and historical sense. As a result, studies that center on aging should be expanded. Longitudinal studies, especially on old age, should be conducted and policies should be created based on the resulting data.
