Interventions to Promote Healthy Aging in Malaysia: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Healthy aging is a multidimensional concept that includes social, mental, and physical dimensions. The drastic rise of the aging population in Malaysia comes with a requirement of elderly care to fulfill the demand of the elderly in the society. The important thing is to find the best way to help elderly adapt to living in old age, with maintain their quality of life and promoting healthy aging among elderly. The aim of this study is to characterize effective interventions for healthy aging in Malaysia. This study included three databased namely Web of Science, Dimension and Google Scholar targeting studies reporting about the effective intervention supporting healthy aging. Literature published from 2010 to 2023 were included for review after identifying, screening and eligibility and 22 articles were chosen for analysis. This review may provide evidence for the effectiveness of active aging, physical activity promotion, religious/spiritual life, social participation/ social function, health education intervention in improving the quality of health among elderly. However, this study found limited evidence supporting the effectiveness of mental health interventions. The finding of this study may help psychologist, stakeholder and healthcare professionals develop multidimensional approaches or program includes psychological, psychosocial, physiological and social support to supporting healthy aging.