“You can’t live for yourself, can you? That’s just boring” – Perspectives on social health as a relational concept as described by community-dwelling older adults in a large Dutch city

Background and Objectives Social health is an essential domain of health, but the perspective of older adults themselves on the concept is lacking. We aimed to qualitatively explore older adults’ perspectives on the concept of social health and how it relates to overall wellbeing and health during aging. Research Design and Methods Seventeen out of 35 invited participants of the Rotterdam Study aged 60-74 took part in semi-structured in-depth interviews. We used a purposive sampling strategy while safeguarding age, sex and ethnic diversity. A thematic analysis on the interview transcripts was performed. Results Five themes were identified that capture older adults’ perspective on social health. First, autonomy and meaning are important conditions for social health, and are influenced by identity. Second, social health is shaped in interaction with the immediate social environment, where reciprocated relationships with close others are valued. Third, individuals interact with the broader societal environment, which relates to social participation within their needs and interpretations of social norms. Fourth, physical and mental health of individuals and their loved ones are preconditions for stable social health with aging. Finally, core relationships were central to all other themes and mainly involve close family ties. Discussion and Implications According to older adults, social health is established in multiple domains of social interaction. Reciprocated social interaction with core ties is considered a critical component of social health. In promoting social health, care should be taken to honor/integrate older adults’ perspective on social health as a relational rather than an individual concept.