Insights into Healthy Ageing in Malaysia: A Qualitative Study.

Malaysian Healthy Agers attributed their sustained health to four main themes identified through inductive thematic analysis.

• The four themes were: a) having a life's role and purpose, b) developing and maintaining independence, c) drive to maintain health, and d) coping strategies and resilience.
• Data were collected through in-depth interviews with Healthy Agers drawn from a longitudinal ageing study in Malaysia.
• Analysis followed an inductive thematic analysis approach.
• This was described as the first study to document insights from a select group of Malaysian Healthy Agers.

Participants' life experiences were shaped by significant sociopolitical upheaval in a low-income country, influencing their adaptive skills.

• The study participants were older adults born at a time of significant sociopolitical upheaval in Malaysia.
• The paper highlights the adaptive skills required to navigate major societal changes as relevant to healthy ageing outcomes.
• The authors note this context as especially insightful for understanding the lived experiences of this cohort.

Healthy ageing is conceptualized in the study as the lifelong process of developing and maintaining functional ability that enables wellbeing in older age.

• Functional ability is defined as 'the combination of an individual's physical and mental capacities, their living environments and the interactions among them.'
• Known influencing factors include diet, physical activity, social connections, and resilience.
• The study leveraged data from a longitudinal ageing study in Malaysia to identify Healthy Agers for interview.

The findings have implications for informing public health initiatives related to ageing well.

• The authors state lessons learnt 'can help to inform public health initiatives.'
• The study highlights 'how sustained health-related efforts and positive outlook in life is important to ageing well.'
• The qualitative approach was used to capture how life experiences shaped outlook and lifestyle choices supporting the ageing process.