Challenges Faced by Older Adults in Achieving Active Aging

TEXT

The study aimed to identify the challenges faced by older adults in achieving active aging in Saudi society, in light of the rapid demographic shift the Kingdom is undergoing and the associated increase in the number of older adults and rise in life expectancy, in line with the aspirations of Saudi Vision 2030 to enhance quality of life and improve services provided to members of society, including older adults, the study adopted a descriptive approach using a social survey methodology. It was conducted on a sample of 385 older adults (aged 60 and over) in the city of Riyadh, who were selected using non-probability (convenience) sampling. Data was collected electronically via an online questionnaire designed specifically for this purpose. The results showed that the level of challenges facing older adults in achieving active aging was moderate (somewhat agree) across all dimensions, with physical and health challenges ranking first in terms of impact (mean 2.33), followed by economic challenges (2.08), then societal (2.02), psychological (1.97), and finally social (1.92). The results also revealed statistically significant differences according to certain demographic variables, showing that age and educational level were among the most influential variables on the level of challenges, while the effect of gender was limited to some dimensions but not others. Based on these results, the study presented a set of practical recommendations at the health, social, economic, community, and legislative levels, aimed at promoting active aging among older adults in Saudi society, and suggested a number of future studies to further research in this important field.