Today, a greater proportion of the population of many countries is entering older age as a result of medical and technological advances as well as improved standards of living (Goklany, 2007, World Health Organization, 2011). This establishes a significant challenge to the population as individuals, communities and governing bodies regarding health promotion, disease prevention and quality of life. Wilhelmson, Andersson, Waern and Allebeck (2005) describe quality of life as a dynamic concept and conclude that psychosocial influences are equally important with functional ability in measuring quality of life. Healthy ageing, however, is a broader concept than an absence of disease, encompassing value of lifestyle with maintenance of …show more content…

This document demonstrates a consideration of individualisation of interventions by policy makers as being an important aspect of health promotion.
Because the significance of inferior lifestyle choices may not be immediately recognisable, and there is an immense range of determinants affecting our health, individuals may adopt poor lifestyle behaviours or preferences (Lawn, Schoo, 2010). Having knowledge of what to do, and taking action with empowerment are very dissimilar experiences and it was shown that actively sharing in decision making and planning with health professionals can improve self-efficacy (Lawn et al, 2010). Uninformed individuals have a tendency to view self-management as compliance, while individuals with knowledge, skill and confidence to self-manage see it as being in control (Dixon, Hibbard, Tusler, 2009). Wiesmann and Hannich (2010) state that an individual with a strong sense of coherence and self-efficacy tends to be more resourceful and engaged in practicing self-management, making positive choices and achieving progressive behaviour changes. Weismann et al’s study, involving a large group of older persons, found that the characteristics for such an individual include a comprehension of ones’ world, being able to adapt and manage changes in life and having a