Improving the wellbeing of old people: Thoughts and reflections

Abstract

In this concluding chapter, the authors reflect on the chapters of the book, Measuring, Understanding and Improving Wellbeing Among Older People, and provide critical discussions on how policy aimed at improving the wellbeing of older people can be more effective. The authors examine the role of discourses of ageism in scientific and popular discourse and how these discourses can negatively influence and affect even well-intended policies and interventions. They further advocate for policies and interventions aimed at improving the wellbeing of older people to adopt an intersectionality lens to better capture disadvantages older people may have due to various vulnerable social identities.