ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to examine leisure engagement among people in later life and the potential relationship between leisure engagement and self-rated health. A population-representative sample of 5,435 persons between 65 and 80 years of age, living in northern Sweden and Finland were included. Data were collected by a posted questionnaire survey. Results revealed that levels of leisure engagement decreased progressively between the youngest and the oldest age groups. A significant relationship was found between leisure engagement and self-rated health. The relationship between leisure engagement and health as well as implications for developing health promotion programs are discussed.
Declaration of interest
The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.
Funding
The Gerda Botnia project and data collection (Gerontological Regional Database 2011, GERDA) is a result of cooperation between universities in Finland and Sweden during 2004–2012 and was financed by the Interreg IV A Botnia-Atlantica program, the Regional Council of Ostrobothnia, Novia University of Applied Sciences (Finland), Åbo Akademi University (Finland), Umeå University (Sweden), and Umeå Municipality (Sweden). This study was also supported financially by the Swedish Research Council’s Linnaeus Grant, no 2006-21576-36119-66 and the Swedish Research Council’s Strategic Research Program: Care Science, Umeå University.