Institutional analysis of health promotion for older people in Europe - concept and research tool.
European societies are ageing rapidly and thus health promotion for older people (HP4OP) is becoming an increasingly relevant issue. Crucial here is not only the clinical aspect of health promotion but also its organisational and institutional dimension. The latter has been relatively neglected in research on HP4OP. This issue is addressed in this study, constituting a part of the EU project ProHealth65+, engaging ten member countries. This paper is based on two intertwining research goals: (1) exploring which institutions/organisations are performing HP4OP activities in selected European countries (including sectors involved, performed roles of these institutions, organisation of those activities); (2) developing an institutional approach to HP4OP. Thus, the paper provides a description of the analytical tools for further research in this area.



The mentioned aims were addressed through the mutual use of two complementary methods: (a) a literature review of scientific and grey literature; and (b) questionnaire survey with selected expert respondents from 10 European countries. The expert respondents, selected by the project's collaborating partners, were asked to fill in a custom designed questionnaire concerning HP4OP institutional aspects.



The literature review provided an overview of the organisational arrangements in different HP4OP initiatives. It also enabled the development of functional institutional definitions of health promotion, health promotion activities and interventions, as well as an institutional definition adequate to the health promotion context. The distinctions between sectors were also clarified. The elaborated questionnaires provided in-depth information on countries specifically indicating the key sectors involved in HP4OP in those selected countries. These are: health care, regional/local authorities, NGO's/voluntary institutions. The questionnaire and literature review both resulted in the indication of a significant level of cross-sectorial cooperation in HP4OP.



The inclusion of the institutional analysis within the study of HP4OP provides a valuable opportunity to analyse, in a systematic way, good practices in this respect, also in terms of institutional arrangements. A failure to address this aspect in policymaking might potentially cause organisational failure even in evidence-based programmes. This paper frames the perception of this problem.
Department of Health Policy and Management Institute of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Collegium Medicum, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland. stojgniew.sitko@uj.edu.pl.
Stojgniew J
SJ
Sitko
Department of Health Policy and Management Institute of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Collegium Medicum, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland.
Iwona
I
Kowalska-Bobko
Department of Health Policy and Management Institute of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Collegium Medicum, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland.
Anna
A
Mokrzycka
Department of Health Policy and Management Institute of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Collegium Medicum, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland.
Michał
M
Zabdyr-Jamróz
Department of Health Policy and Management Institute of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Collegium Medicum, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland.
Alicja
A
Domagała
Department of Public Health, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Nicola
N
Magnavita
Department of Public Health, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy.
Andrea
A
Poscia
Department of Health Policy and Management Institute of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Collegium Medicum, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland.
Maciej
M
Rogala
Department of Health Policy and Management Institute of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Collegium Medicum, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland.
Anna
A
Szetela
Department of Health Policy and Management Institute of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Collegium Medicum, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland.
Stanisława
S
Golinowska
D000368:Aged; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D005060:Europe; D006268:Health Facilities; D006291:Health Policy; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006302:Health Services Research; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000458:organization & administration*; D000070497:Healthy Lifestyle; D006801:Humans; D011050:Policy Making; D024382:Professional Role; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
Health policy; Health promotion; Health promotion programmes and policies; Healthy aging; Institutional approach; Older population; Public social institutions; Sectorial approach