Successful Aging: Concept Analysis with Walker and Avant's Approach

Objectives Following the population aging phenomenon in the world, "successful aging" as a concept for describing the phenomenon has recently attracted the attention of many researchers and policy makers.However, it seems that there is no single and clear definition for successful aging in the literature.This study aims to analyze the concept of successful aging.Methods & Materials This study was conducted based on Walker and Avant's eight-step approach.The articles meeting the inclusion criteria and published from 2000 to 2022 were first selected through searching the databases including Scientific Information Database (SID), MagIran, Noormags, Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and Proquest using the keywords aging, successful aging, and related terms.Then, they were analyzed using Graneheim and Lundman's content analysis method to extract the characteristics, antecedents and consequences of successful aging concept.Results The content analysis of 83 selected articles led to extracting the characteristics of successful aging in the following categories: "manageable process", "multi-dimensional and comprehensive", "socio-cultural context-based", "having physio-socio-psychological health", "non-dependence on others", "happiness", and " active and continuous participation in life".Conclusion A comprehensive definition of successful aging can be presented by using the characteristics, antecedents and consequences, which can help to better understand this concept, recognize its various dimensions, and ultimately, plan for its realization.