ABSTRACT
Cuba has one of the fastest aging populations in Latin America and the Caribbean (20.4% of the population aged ≥60 years by 2018) and life expectancy has climbed to nearly 79 years. This demographic shift has prompted a number of initiatives to address the needs of older adults and promote active, healthy longevity.

At the community level in Cienfuegos Province, an educational program was implemented designed to foster a more active role in society for older adults and improve their quality of life upon retirement, as well as to reinforce a positive culture of aging. The program ran from June 2010 to June 2018 in the Mental Health Department of the Dr Enrique Barnet Polyclinic in the Santa Isabel de las Lajas Municipality. Twenty-two groups were constituted of 330 older adults who were trained for 10 weeks in techniques of self-awareness, personal growth, development of social skills, use of social support networks, adoption of healthy lifestyles and formulation of retirement plans. Results were assessed for each group one year after program completion and the information summarized.

Participants whose definitions of “older adult” and “retirement” were rooted in nondiscriminatory concepts increased from 53 to 303 and retirees not incorporated into active social/economic life decreased from 228 to 36. At the outset, only 22% had coping mechanisms to manage their new role as retirees and 9% had a life plan for retirement. One year after finishing the program, 318 (96%) reported they were prepared to face this new stage in their lives and 294 (89%) had completed life plans; at the start, 116 (35%) were taking antidepressants and one year later, 103 of them had reduced or eliminated the drugs. The program enriched participants’ culture of aging, as well as relationships with their families and their communities.

KEYWORDS Retirement, aging, community health planning, Cuba