Population Institute

ABSTRACT

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) healthy aging framework emphasizes the development and maintenance of functional ability, including older persons’ ability to contribute to society. The lack of a standardized yet culturally sensitive approach to measuring this domain complicates efforts to monitor progress toward healthy aging. This study constructs an index of older Filipinos’ contributions based on the WHO’s ability to contribute domain and provides evidence of its validity. Using data from the Longitudinal Study of Ageing and Health in the Philippines (LSAHP), two analytical samples were derived: a baseline sample (N = 4,873) for index construction and analyzing group differentials, and a panel sample (N = 3,054) for examining the effects of baseline contributions on life satisfaction at follow-up. Principal components analysis was employed on a set of measures from the LSAHP survey that represent contributions (volunteering, caregiving, working, assisting others, and mentoring) to examine the domain's underlying structure, while binary logistic regression analysis was used to determine whether it predicts subsequent life satisfaction. Results indicate that the ability to contribute domain exhibits a four-component structure, reflecting consolidation among the WHO’s five proposed subdomains: (1) mentoring peers and younger individuals + assisting friends and neighbors, (2) engaging in the workforce, (3) participating in voluntary activities, and (4) caring for family members. The convergence of mentoringand assisting-related measures is interpreted as reflecting a relational role shared among older Filipinos, centered on providing advice, consistent with norms emphasizing respect for older persons. The index showed patterns across individual, community, and societal characteristics that are consistent with the literature. The subdomain on mentoring and assisting others predicted higher odds of life satisfaction at follow-up. These findings support conceptualizing the WHO’s ability to contribute as a multidimensional construct and refining its structure and core measures to improve the healthy aging measurement framework.

Keywords : healthy aging, ability to contribute, older persons, index construction, life satisfaction