Active Ageing: A Case Study of Old People Attending Aquatic Exercises

Abstract

This research, employing case study method, is aimed at scrutinizing the process of active ageing development of old people attending aquatic exercise. Gathering data by employing in-depth interviews with four old people frequently participating in an aquatic exercises. The researcher found that the first and second informants, a spouse, expressed that their affection and deep bond between each other made their caretaking for each other meaningful and such affection gave them power to live. They focused on taking care of each other’s health facets. Moreover, they placed importance on knowledge sharing society where they exercise. The third informant, an elderly daughter tending to her mother, expressed that living together with her mother made her life meaningful and motivate her to maintain her own health. Moreover, her liveliness made aquatic exercise society more meaningful. The fourth informant went through a health crisis and realized keeping her health fit was of most importance so she could remain fully self-dependent. As the aquatic exercise community’s reliable leader, her participation did not only count as personal matter, but also valuable mean of relationship.  Besides, the four informants had economic stability supporting their health caretaking. All of these informants’ attributes are consistent with the following active ageing framework: (1) keeping health fit by exercising regularly, (2) having economic stability which supports physical activity participation (3) taking part in exercise community with other elderly people. Thus, the processes leading to active ageing are the theories of meaning of life, Erikson's theory of psychosocial development and activity theory.