Silver Empowerment

The strengths and opportunities of ageing and the ageing population.

Silver empowerment is a valuable paradigm to improve care and support systems for older persons. It aims to counteract the dominant image of ageing, which is all too often one of decline, dependency and vulnerability, and rather sees ageing and the ageing population as a challenge that opens up new opportunities. By focusing on the strengths and connections of older persons, silver empowerment strives for an inclusive, age-friendly society that will allow everyone to grow old with dignity and meaning. In this book, leading academics from a variety of disciplines discuss ways to enhance the empowerment of older persons in practice. Covering a wide range of topics such as resilience, loneliness, community-based care, the interplay between formal and informal care, the inclusion of older persons’ perspectives in research and care, and empowering policy, Silver Empowerment is of interest to academics, policy makers and practitioners interested in empowerment and care and support systems for older persons.

Contributors: Jasper De Witte (KU Leuven), Tine Van Regenmortel (KU Leuven / Tilburg University), Leen Heylen (Thomas More), Benedicte De Koker (HOGENT), Dimitri Mortelmans (University of Antwerp), Anja Declercq (KU Leuven), Elena Bendien (Leyden Academy on Vitality and Ageing), Susan Woelders (Leyden Academy on Vitality and Ageing), Tineke Abma (Leiden University Medical Center / Leyden Academy on Vitality and Ageing), Meriam Janssen (Tilburg University), Katrien Luijkx (Tilburg University), Aukelien Scheffelaar (Tilburg University), Annerieke Stoop (Tilburg University), Jozef Pacolet (KU Leuven), Gregorio Rodríguez Cabrero (University of Alcalá), Simón Sosvilla-Rivero (Complutense University of Madrid), Katrien Steenssens (KU Leuven).

Ebook available in Open Access.
This publication is GPRC-labeled (Guaranteed Peer-Reviewed Content).

"Silver Empowerment" was edited by Jasper De Witte and Tine Van Regenmortel.

Jasper De Witte holds a PhD in sociology and is a research expert on inclusion and care for socially vulnerable groups at HIVA KU Leuven.

Tine Van Regenmortel holds a PhD in psychology and is professor in social work at KU Leuven and Tilburg University. She is head of the research group Social and Economic Policy & Social Inclusion at HIVA KU Leuven and leads the Academic Collaborative Centre Social Work at Tranzo, Tilburg University.

Yes, "Silver Empowerment" is published Open Access. It is available under a BY-NC-ND license.

Publication of "Silver Empowerment" was funded by KU Leuven Fund for Fair Open Access
be.Source KU Leuven Chair ‘Empowerment of underprivileged elderly’
HIVA – KU Leuven
.

Preface
An introduction to Silver Empowerment Jasper De Witte & Tine Van Regenmortel
Chapter 1. An empowerment perspective on older persons: The power of resilience Tine Van Regenmortel & Jasper De Witte
Chapter 2. The economic cost of the loneliness of older persons Jozef Pacolet, Gregorio Rodríguez Cabrero, Simón Sosvilla-Rivero
Chapter 3. An empowerment perspective on loneliness among older persons Jasper De Witte & Tine Van Regenmortel
Chapter 4. The importance of neighbourhood-oriented care for the quality of life and empowerment of older persons Leen Heylen
Chapter 5. An interplay of formal and informal care : Strengths and challenges from an empowerment perspective Benedicte De Koker, Leen Heylen, Dimitri Mortelmans & Anja Declercq
Chapter 6. Merits of critical moments of disempowerment : Iterative practices of empowerment and disempowerment during participatory action research with older persons as co-researchers Elena Bendien, Susan Woelders, Tineke Abma
Chapter 7. Enhancing person-centred care to enable older persons to be involved in long-term care M.M. Janssen, K.G. Luijkx, A. Scheffelaar, A. Stoop
Chapter 8. Silver Empowerment: Towards empowering policy, practice and research Katrien Steenssens, Tine Van Regenmortel & Jasper De Witte
Afterword Tine Van Regenmortel & Jasper De Witte
About the authors