The Role of Psychological, Environmental, and Social Factors in the Promotion of Older Adults’ Health and Well-Being

A special issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032). This special issue belongs to the section "Health Assessments".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 101

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
Interests: sport psychology; social cognitive model; self-determination theory; theory of planned behavior
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor Assistant
Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
Interests: psychometrics; health psychology; aging; personality assessment; intelligence assessment

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Due to significant advances in the field of medicine, together with a decline in birth rates, we are witnessing substantial growth in the global population of older adults (i.e., individuals over 65 years old), which is projected to reach 1.4 billion by 2030 and 2.1 billion by 2050. This demographic shift poses a major challenge in developed countries from an economic, health, and social perspective. To mitigate the impact of this growth on societies and improve the quality of life for older adults, it is essential to develop new multidimensional strategies that promote their health and well-being. Aging is a complex and multifaceted process that offers new opportunities but is also accompanied by physical and psychological changes.

This Special Issue aims to gather new evidence to better understand how emerging technologies (e.g., virtual reality), psychological factors (e.g., vitality), and environmental factors (e.g., spending time in green spaces) can contribute to the promotion of healthy and active aging while reducing the impact of age-related risk factors. Such knowledge can support health professionals and organizations in developing effective guidelines and preventive interventions that promote the health and quality of life of older adults. Additionally, it is crucial to investigate how the unique challenges faced by older adults belonging to minority groups (e.g., immigrants or LGBTQ+) influence their aging process.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. The scope of this Special Issue includes, but is not limited to, the following topics:

  • Systematic reviews and meta-analyses summarizing the impact of new technologies, psychological factors, and environmental factors on the health and well-being of older adults;
  • The development of new tools or the validation of existing ones to assess mental and physical health, well-being, and the psychological factors involved in the aging process;
  • Innovative interventions aimed at promoting the psychological and physical health and well-being of older adults;
  • Examination of the role of technology in enhancing older adults’ psychological and physical health and well-being;
  • Examination of how the environment contributes to the promotion of older adults’ psychological and physical health and well-being;
  • Analyses of the impact of cultural and societal factors on older adult’s psychological health and well-being;
  • The identification of social and psychological factors influencing the psychological health and well-being of older adults belonging to minority groups (e.g., immigrants or LGBTQ+).

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Fabio Lucidi
Guest Editor

Dr. James Dawe
Guest Editor Assistant

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Healthcare is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • aging
  • older adults
  • well-being
  • quality of life
  • psychological health
  • physical health
  • technologies
  • immigration
  • LGBQ+
  • minorities

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Published Papers

This special issue is now open for submission.
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