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A Review of the AGE Barometer 2023: EU Good Practices and Barriers in the Empowerment of Elderly in the Labour Market - The Case of Hungary
15-24Views:82The 2023 edition of the AGE Barometer was released by the Age Platform Europe, aimed at consolidating data from European statistics and national-level sources and enriched by feedback from 19 European countries, including Hungary. The publication aimed at empowering older people in the labour market and promoting sustainable and high-quality working lives for them. The Barometer revealed that the European Union (EU) is far from reaching its 78% employment target for adults aged 20 to 64 with its current state of just 62.3%. This could be due to various barriers to the integration of older people in the labour market, which include inadequate supportive policies, ageism, and unfavourable workplace conditions. Conversely, these are broadly stated in the context of the EU; hence, a deeper analysis of these results, with a special focus on the case of a single country, such as Hungary, is relevant to establish a clearer understanding of the national and local framework of these findings and in determining facilitating policies and programmes as well as gaps in promoting elderly inclusion in the labour sector. Using various methods such as critical analysis, desk and literature review, and thematic analysis, this article examined the Barometer report and other relevant publications. The Barometer 2023 effectively provided general issues and actionable areas in supporting older people in the labour market, combating ageism, and ensuring an age-friendly work environment in the EU landscape. Moreover, it revealed that Hungary performed better in employing older persons compared to the EU average, likely associated with a favourable environment for older workers through its legal protection systems, financial incentives, equal treatment policy, and initiatives such as pensioner cooperatives and information technology education. However, this still falls below the target, and based on the analysis and review of existing relevant publications, this could be associated with some unfavourable policies, gender disparities, a continuous rise in the ageing population, an increased number of migrant workers, technology challenges, ageism, political mayhems, cultural and traditional constraints, and other challenges that continue to threaten the marketability of older people, thereby resulting in consequences for their financial, physical, social, psychological, and environmental wellbeing. Moreover, the report also stated few good practices in promoting elderly employment in the county, contrary to numerous efforts implemented by both the Hungarian government, non-government organisations, and other institutions, which remained unrecognised, perhaps due to limited data availability and gaps in the reporting schemes. Finally, the Barometer 2023 report was realized to be included and used as a part of the technical working papers of the European Economic and Social Committee, being the EU advisory body that deals on the issues and opinions regarding this matter. The latest edition of the Barometer has the potential to spark positive changes among policymakers and decision-makers in acknowledging the economic potential of the elderly and in eliminating barriers that hinder elderly integration in the labour market. In the case of Hungary, substantial policies, programmes, and welfare services exist that facilitate elderly employment; however, challenges were also identified, hence the precise recommendations provided in the Barometer report must transform into reality, taking into consideration the unique national, local, and cultural peculiarities of Hungary and its local communities. It is also suggested that systematic data collection and good practice documentation must be facilitated in Hungary, and feedback from the other 18 countries in the Barometer report must be thoroughly reviewed or benchmarked for possible inspiration and replication. Lastly, the potentials of the Barometer 2023 to be used at all levels of decision-making must be maximized.
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Barriers of Accessing Elderly Care Services in Bangladesh
81Views:14Approximately one in ten persons in Bangladesh is over 60 years old and it is estimated that this figure will increase to 21.5% in 2050. This huge proportion of the population often faces barriers in terms of accessing elderly care services.
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Dementia and family. The role of Alzheimer cafe in reducing the burden of caregiving families
34-46.Views:218In the last years, the international researches have turned towards families caring for elderly people with dementia /see the works of Zarit et al. 1985, 2005; Aneshensel et al. 1995; and Kaplan 1996/. The majority of these researchers analysed the stress burden of the caring family member and its consequences, role conflicts, and the tensions in the caregiving family (Zarit et al. 1985; Aneshensel et al. 1995; Kaplan 1996; Zarit et al. 2005). The revelation that in terms of Romania, we know nothing or almost nothing about the burden of families caring for elderly people with dementia and its effect on the primary carer, played was an important factor in the choice of topic. This is why, in a vast empirical analysis, in Transylvania, 50 interviews and questionnaire surveys were made with people caring for elderly with dementia in their own homes and 50 families whose relatives with dementia have been moved to a long-term residential home in the past 12 months from the time of the survey. Gathering data took three years (2015–2017). The research included the inquiry interview with the primary caregiver family member, in which we assessed the functional barriers and the psychosocial difficulties (Szabó 2000). The analysis of the levels of social skills was built upon this, and it unfolded the main characteristics of self-sufficiency, existing social skills, and social adaptation. This survey pointed out the everyday tasks in which the client requires help. With regard to family care, we have also analysed the independent living ability of people with dementia. These three angles offered the guidelines for the assessment of “objective burden” of the caring family member. Reviewing the distribution of caring tasks within the family is based on this, which helps us finding out who the key persons are, the ones undertaking the primary caregiving duties. For analysing the formation of roles within the family, we have devised our own criteria (Szabó–Kiss 2015). Starting from the objective burden, in regard to the “subjective burden”, we have obtained valuable indications about the emotional effect of caregiving family member. The detailed assessment of self-sufficiency through which we have analysed the measure of functional degradation of people living with dementia, was added to the devices of the analysis (Szabó 2000). The internationally approved scale of memory and behavioural problems (Zarit 1985) is connected to this, which measures the distractive attitude of the person living with dementia and its effect on the primary caregiver. The survey of the primary caregiver’s burdening is also connected (Zarit 1985), and so is the assessment of the negative and positive attitude towards the caregiving tasks (Farran et al. 1999). A six-step focus group is added to the devices of the research, in which the primary caregivers, by hearing each other’s cases and following thematic questions, open up more easily about the critical periods of caregiving and the pivotal factors of institutional placement.
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Social service delivery for senior citizens in rural Philippines and secrets to longevity of Apo Whang-od
2-14Views:96Access to social services such as healthcare, transportation, and financial support can be limited, leaving many elderly individuals vulnerable to poverty and social exclusion. This paper examined the recent elderly demographics, status of social service delivery, the roles of traditional and cultural practices, and specific challenges faced by older persons in rural areas, using the case of Apo Whang-od and her community, Buscalan that is in the municipality of Tinglayan, Province of Kalinga, Philippines. Using a mixed methods approach, this paper revealed that almost 11% of Tinglayan’s population is elderly, mostly indigenous people with a relatively low literacy rate, and low-income earners who are engaged mostly in subsistence farming and small-scale traditional craft making. Also, there are substantial government programs and services offered by existing laws; however, access to these is challenged by limited access to education and healthcare services, with long travel distances and a lack of transportation being major barriers. Financial difficulties were also observed, with no or few having access to social security benefits and reasonable amounts of pensions. The challenges can also be attributed to an unfavorable geographical location, conflicts with neighboring tribes, limited local government funds, lack of knowledge, and inadequate social service centers within the locality. Tinglayan’s cultural values were also found to play a pivotal role in supplementing the scarce social services by fostering a supportive atmosphere for the elderly. Analysing Apo-Whag-od's longevity, it was revealed that she lived a longer life because she ate organic and locally sourced food, slept well, laughed a lot, engaged in regular physical activity, nurtured her spiritual well-being, built strong relationships with her family and community, and kept a positive outlook. In conclusion, social demographics shows that elderlies in rural areas are disadvantaged, which calls for more efficient and effective access, delivery, and availability of social services. Moreover, policymakers are enjoined to accelerate social infrastructures, expand social protection programs, and support intergenerational solidarity and resilience and cultural preservation. Lastly, Apo Whang-od’s legacy lives on. Her popularity not only gained revitalization of the Kalinga tattoo culture, but it also inspired people to follow her steps to longer and happier way of life.
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Explore the Motivational Factors Driving Economic Engagement among the Elderly in Rural Area in Lao People's Democratic Republic
76-78Views:15This exploratory study delves into the motivational factors driving economic engagement among the elderly in rural areas of Laos, a nation in Southeast Asia experiencing demographic shifts towards an aging population. With limited research on this topic in the context of rural Laos, this study aims to uncover the underlying motivations that influence elderly individuals to participate in economic activities. By understanding these factors, policymakers can design targeted interventions to promote economic inclusion and improve the well-being of the elderly population. However, the study also uncovers barriers and challenges faced by elderly individuals, such as limited access to resources, skills, and infrastructure. Recommendations are provided to address these challenges and enhance support systems.
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The good practice of inclusion in action - the proposal of program based on the Human Rights
38-39Views:54Rapidly changing time is a problem: are we able to deal with all challenges in a humanistic and peaceful way? Is it possible? Do falling barriers to trade have led to a rapid change in social life and in the movement of products and labor? With these exciting transformations also came great challenges and threats, at a time when we seem to like each other less and less, with partisan affective polarization on the rise in a country after country.
The paper presents definitions of phenomenon of marginalization and exclusion from European perspective. The main idea of its lecture and planned project is the presentation the intervention program among seniors based on heritage of work the French Research Committee on Violence, Crime and Delinquency, who published 40 years ago a document Society against Violence. The document contained analyses on the occurrence of social problems and their determinants, as well as guidelines to reduce risks and reduce the sense of threat and insecurity in modern society. Based on the conclusion included into Report “Society against Violence” the special training was prepared. The theoretical assumption of the project is Levinian model of changes in society and his methodology of action research. The aims of program are to change attitudes in the field of knowledge and attitudes towards the used violence and to improve the skills to react in situations of confrontation with institutional or press aggression or the so-called manifestations of "hate speech" in education institutions. Because of Coronavirus lockdown only idea and first step of implementation (the realisation was stopped) is possible to presentation.Maybe the program is in a primary stage but we believe that modern societies should relay and based on the idea of Human Rights and spread them elsewhere and that violence in modern societies should be reduced by human rights and democracy education.
The document became the basis for the reflection on public debate on violence in international communities and psychological practice against violence in interpersonal and social meaning. The article presents the possible directions of research and psychological interventions in this area especially among seniors. This perspective is worth to be underlined because it is a part of wider trend in preparation social support programmes focused on inclusion adults from a difficult sociocultural environment. Such programmes could improve competencies to protect social capital of societies. The content and scope of these programmes should be drawn from knowledge of the relationships between the various risk factors, protective factors and developmental processes in groups and societies and combine knowledge, practical useful skills and good psychological experience by continue containing with life.