Gezond actief: de relatie tussen ziekten, beperkingen en maatschappelijke participatie onder Nederlandse ouderen

The Health Council of the Netherlands asked the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment to examine the relationship between diseases, disabilities and social participation. The analyses leave little room for doubt: chronic diseases reduce social participation substantially. This is mainly due to disabilities that people with chronic diseases experience. Volunteering in jobs or giving informal care, for example, are strongly reduced in people with diseases that effect mobility, such as stroke or musculoskeletal diseases. In most cases, however, more personal forms of participation have not diminished. People with mental diseases experience the most participation problems without exception, even including social contacts. Epidemiological prognoses show an increase of chronic diseases in the future and thus a reduced potential for participation. This increase in chronic diseases, however, does not seem to be accompanied by an equal increase in functional disabilities. Evidently, we are succeeding more and more in reducing disabilities. If this trend continues, the possibilities of social participation for the elderly and chronically ill will increase at the same time. Three studies - the 'Amenities and Social Services Utilization Survey' (AVO), the European Study on Adult Well-being (ESAW) and the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (LASA)- supplied us with information on people of 55 or older. These studies contain information on both diseases and social participation. Social participation is defined as personal involvement with society (as recreational or cultural activities) and participation with a direct benefit for society (as paid jobs and volunteer work).