Active Aging Policies and Programs in Selected EU-27 Countries: Review and Recommendations for Croatia
Active Aging Policies and Programs in Selected EU-27 Countries: Review and Recommendations for Croatia

Author(s): Katarina Marošević
Subject(s): Politics, Family and social welfare, Demography and human biology, Gerontology, EU-Approach / EU-Accession / EU-Development
Published by: Sveučilište Josipa Jurja Strossmayera u Osijeku, Ekonomski fakultet u Osijeku
Keywords: EU-27; Croatia; active aging; active aging policies and programs; laws and regulations;
Summary/Abstract: Aging remains one of the great demographic challenges, especially in EU member states. Therefore, ensuring older adults remain independent in daily life and engaged in society sustains their quality of life and helps policymakers advance active aging in local or regional communities. In measuring active aging, the active aging index (AAI) is used. Its four domains are: Independent, Healthy and Secure Living; Capacity and Enabling Environment for Active Aging; Employment; and Participation in Society. There is a noticeable difference between EU-27 countries in the levels achieved in certain domains, according to the last available AAI data (2018), with the Participation in Society domain recording the lowest results. Besides formal laws and regulations, implementing active aging requires adequate programs and policies that are easier and faster to implement. In any case, laws and regulations, as well as programs and policies from the first three ranked EU-27 countries in the domain of Participation in Society (the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium) were analyzed across four fields: physical health, mental health, ageism, and financial security. In another three countries, according to the ranking (Sweden, France, and Austria), there are laws, regulations, programs, and/or policies, which contribute to the development of the level of older people’s participation in society, not specified according to the groups, but generally the ones that were important for participation in the society domain as an adequate indicator. The chapter aims to analyze AAI domains and, based on the least-achieved level of the Participation in Society domain, review laws and regulations, programs, and projects in the first-ranked countries in this domain. Selected programs and policies from some EU-27 countries could serve as recommendations for Croatia on fostering the inclusion of older people. In a methodological sense, a comparative method is used, in which programs and policies available in certain EU-27 countries are analyzed and, after consideration, proposed as recommendations for the implementation in Croatia. A limitation of this research is the lack of availability of more contemporary data, i.e., data from this or last year. In addition to only the six first-ranked countries, future research could also consider all other member countries to check whether certain programs and/or policies are missing in countries with similar AAI levels. Its implementation could benefit older people, a vulnerable group in society, and improve their quality of life.

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