Healthy, Safe and Active Aging, 3rd Edition

Topic Information

Dear Colleagues,

Population aging on a global scale is a complex demographic process involving individual, social, cultural, and economic dimensions. While the increase in longevity in recent decades undoubtedly represents a major achievement, it is equally essential to ensure and maintain psychophysical and relational wellbeing in older individuals to monitor and manage the progressive loss of functional abilities, as well as the onset of age-related diseases.

In addressing the challenges posed by population aging, policies aimed at prevention, rehabilitation, environmental facilitation, and economic, social, and motivational support for older adults and their families have been developed. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines healthy aging as “the process of developing and maintaining the functional ability that enables wellbeing in older age.” The core concept of maintaining intrinsic capacity, encompassing mental and physical capacities, has become increasingly central. Healthy aging depends on the dynamic interaction between individuals’ intrinsic capacities and relevant environmental characteristics, including the home, the community, broader society, the built environment, interpersonal relationships, attitudes and values, as well as health and social policies.

Moreover, to frame aging as a positive and empowering experience, the WHO has adopted the term active aging, defined as “the process of optimizing opportunities for health, participation, and security in order to enhance quality of life as people age.” Throughout the life course, individuals should be supported in acting in favor of their physical, social, and mental wellbeing according to their needs, preferences, and capacities.

In addition, the progressive loss of functional abilities and the onset of age-related diseases may generate significant health and safety concerns in occupational contexts, particularly when work environments and tasks are primarily designed for younger individuals. This highlights the need for age-sensitive organizational policies and inclusive design approaches.

This Topic aims to provide a third wave of comprehensive contributions on the determinants of healthy, safe, and active aging within a biopsychosocial framework by considering biological, psychological, and social factors and their complex interactions in shaping health, illness, and healthcare delivery in later life. Demographic and cultural characteristics, social and economic determinants, physical environments, and personal and behavioral factors will be examined from the medical, psychological, sociological, technological, and policy-oriented perspectives.

Importantly, we also encourage the submission of position papers, consensus statements, guidelines, and tutorials that synthesize current evidence and propose shared orientations, strategic frameworks, and practical guidelines for healthy and active aging. Such contributions are intended to strengthen the policy dimension of this Topic, thereby fostering the development of actionable recommendations and evidence-based guidelines to inform public health strategies, institutional planning, workplace adaptations, and community interventions at the local, national, and international levels. Finally, but no less importantly, we believe that this third edition should also address the topic of graduate and post-graduate training in aging. This represents a significant step forward in envisioning educational curricula capable of providing discipline-specific and interdisciplinary tools to support the wellbeing, development, and health of older adults

We welcome manuscripts related to the following fields:

(a) Mental health, the reduction in risk factors associated with major diseases, and the enhancement of protective factors;

(b) Psychological factors (cognition, emotion, and personality) in normal and pathological aging;

(c) Biological factors (genetic, molecular, and cellular);

(d) Quality of life, assessment, prevention, effective treatments and interventions, holistic medicine, age-friendly and safe environments, and social support;

(e) Available and emerging technologies for interfacing with the human brain and their applications in supporting older individuals (assistive technologies, neuroengineering, biomedical engineering, information technology, and sensor technologies);

(f) Development of guidelines, policy frameworks, and interdisciplinary recommendations aimed at promoting sustainable and inclusive aging societies.

Dr. Antonella Lopez
Prof. Dr. Andrea Bosco
Dr. Alessandro Oronzo Caffò
Dr. Elisabetta Ricciardi
Dr. Luigi Tinella
Dr. Giuseppina Spano
Topic Editors

Keywords

Participating Journals

Journal Name	Impact Factor	CiteScore	Launched Year	First Decision (median)	APC
Brain Sciences brainsci	2.8	5.6	2011	17.6 Days	CHF 2200	Submit
Geriatrics geriatrics	2.1	3.4	2016	27.3 Days	CHF 1800	Submit
Healthcare healthcare	2.7	4.7	2013	22.4 Days	CHF 2700	Submit
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ijerph	-	8.5	2004	29.5 Days	CHF 2500	Submit
Journal of Ageing and Longevity jal	-	-	2021	28.2 Days	CHF 1200	Submit
Journal of Gerontology and Geriatrics jgg	0.5	0.8	1953	15.0 days *	CHF 1200	Submit
Nursing Reports nursrep	2.0	2.8	2011	22.6 Days	CHF 1800	Submit
Nutrients nutrients	5.0	9.1	2009	15 Days	CHF 2900	Submit

* Median value for all MDPI journals in the second half of 2025.

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