Managing Age-Related Disability in Indonesia: An Issue That Extends Beyond the Concept of Active Aging

This study evaluates how various village services help older Indonesians perform daily activities and reduce age-related disability. Individual-level data from the 2020 National Socio-Economic Survey (SUSENAS) (N = 121,961 older people) and community-level data from the 2018 Village Potential Data Census Collection (PODES) (N = 83,931 villages in a data aggregation across 514 municipalities) were used in a multilevel binary logistic regression model. The interclass coefficient correlation (ICC) was calculated to determine the variation in characteristics across 514 municipalities to explain the differences in functional status. The ICC was approximately 16.2%, indicating that creating an age-friendly environment would help to delay the onset of disability. Older populations in Indonesia have a high percentage of informal employment, a low educational level, low percentages of affluent households, and few leisure activities. The findings highlight that the development of age-friendly services in the village should consider employment status and leisure activities. Participation in employment is a well-acknowledged concept for promoting active aging in developed nations but is secondary in managing age-related disability in Indonesia. The municipal government must develop an aging-friendly community (AFC) to create a supportive environment to meet the basic health and social needs of older people with age-related disability.