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Social security and safety of older adults in Poland
9-11Views:94Poland’ population will be ageing at a fast rate in the coming decades. It is projected that in 2070 the Polish ratio between people aged 65 and over and those aged 15-64 years will be 62.6, the highest among EU-27 countries. Population ageing appeared in the public debate in Poland as a separate subject in the 1990s, following a negative natural population increase and the looming impact of the massive withdrawal of baby boomers from the labour market on the pension system. One of the reasons for older persons’ growing interest in retirement was pension system reforms planned by successive governments.
The announcement of the year 2012 as the European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity Between Generations (decision no. 940/2011/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 September 2011) contributed in Poland to the emergence of a senior policy from a social policy and initiated major legislative, institutional, and organisational changes at the national, regional and local levels of government. It also inspired the redefinition of measures used hitherto in line with the evolution in the perception of older people from social care recipients to active members of their communities entitled to education and economic, social, civic and political activity. In 2013, the Senior Policy Council was established as a consultative and advisory body to the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, and then similar councils supporting regional and local authorities were organised.
In order to encourage greater activity among seniors, a special governmental programme was created in December 2013, which grants funds on a competitive basis to projects concerning social activities, education, and intergenerational cooperation submitted by informal and formal groups of seniors.
The national government’s key documents on senior policy, one for the period from 2014 to 2020 and the other spanning the years until 2030, are Resolution 238 of 24 Dec. 2013 by the Board of Ministers on the Adoption of Long-term Senior Policy in Poland for the Years 2015-2020 and Resolution 161 of 28 Oct. 2018 by the Board of Ministers on the adoption of Social Policy Towards the Older Persons 2030. Security-Participation-Solidarity. In 2015, the Polish Parliament passed the elderly people act, which requires institutions in charge of the well-being of older persons to monitor and report on their situation. The reports submitted by the institutions are used by the Ministry of Labour to compile and present an annual evaluation of the status of the older population in Poland.
The regional governments’ senior policy is reflected in their social policy strategies. The strategies’ operational goals started to address needs specific to older people since 2002, focusing in particular on improving their quality of life, developing round-the-clock care services, at-home care services, and rehabilitation services, and on reducing social exclusion and marginalization of seniors.
Social security and the safety of older adults are progressively improving in Poland, but the greatest progress has been made in the area of active ageing. Social care services for the elderly still require improvement, because the predominant family care model is inefficient in many ways due to:
- limited financing of care services by public institutions,
- the growing proportion of single elderly persons,
- the increasing number of people aged 85+ (the so-called double population ageing),
- social insurance disregarding long-term care to an elderly family member as an insurable risk,
- a lack of legislation allowing employed people to seek a long-term leave to give care to an older family member,
- the informal expectation that women who retire at the age of 60 years will take care of the oldest family members.
While neither the scale nor the quality of home care services given to older persons is regularly surveyed in Poland, it can be presumed that the scale of care services is insufficient and that they excessively burden families with a member in need of care. Between 2010 and 2018, the number of persons aged 65+ increased in Poland by over 1.5 million, the number of the users of attendance services and specialised attendance services by 29,000 (from 99,000 to 128,000), and the number of residences in homes and facilities providing assistance to aged persons by 7,000 (from 20,000 to 27,100.)
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Local community practices to improve healthy aging in the North
25-26Views:110The governments of Finland, Denmark, Norway and Russia have developed national programs to address population ageing. There are also successful practices in healthy ageing at the local level in different countries, but they remain unknown among the global professional community and governmental authorities.
Healthy ageing has become an important policy issue at all levels of the society. The key international document is the World Health Organization’s (WHO) plan for a Decade of Healthy Ageing 2020–2030 which is the second action plan of the WHO ‘s Global strategy on ageing and health. The Plan consists of 10 years of concerted, catalytic, sustained collaboration to improve the lives of older people, their families, and their communities. Older people themselves are in the core of this plan, and it brings together variety of actors, including governments, civil society, international agencies, professionals, academia, the media, and the private sector. The Plan also notes that healthy ageing is not only a healthcare issue but also needs to engage many other sectors.
The aim of research was to search and introduce local community practices according the priority areas of WHO Decade of Healthy Aging action plan for gerontological policy in arctic countries.
Examples of good practices for the Priority 1 of the Plan: Change how we think, feel and act towards age and ageing
Fostering of Healthy Ageing requires fundamental shifts from existing stereotypes, prejudices, and discrimination towards older people. Older people should not be seen only as an economic burden for the welfare society, but as contributors to the state and communities, and as resourceful carriers of traditional values and wisdom. Governments eliminate age discrimination by variety of actions, such as legislative changes, and policies and programs which engage older people in decision-making.
Initiatives for Priority 2 of the Plan: Ensure that communities foster the abilities of older people
The environments which are built on decisions made not only by policy makers but involve citizens of all ages are better places to grow, play, live, work and retire. Even those people who have lost their capacity, shall be able to continue to enjoy everyday activities, to continue to develop personally and professionally, to participate and contribute to their communities while retaining their autonomy, dignity, health, and well-being.
Practices for Priority 3 of the Plan: Deliver person-centered, integrated care and primary health services to older people
Good-quality essential health services include prevention of diseases; promotion of healthy lifestyle; curative, rehabilitative, palliative and end-of-life care; safe, effective, good-quality essential medicines and vaccines; dental care; assistive technologies, while ensuring that the use of services does not cause the user financial hardship.
Local northern practices are mirrored against the recently released WHO Decade of Healthy Ageing 2020-2030 Action Plan with paying attention to indigenous elders. Based on these practices the national, regional, and municipal level authorities of the Nordic countries and Russia were suggested to consider the policy recommendations based of the research.
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Családi (informális) gondozást segítő rendszerek Magyarországon
34-48Views:295The member states of the European Union have to face the challenge of demographic aging. Taking the demographic characteristics of the member states, there are no essential differences in either the current or in the expected future development of the proportion of elderly people. Ageing affects several areas of the welfare regimes, but it is usually the health and pension systems and personal services that are highlighted. This paper deals with a special area of personal services, the family (informal) care and the support of carers in Hungary. The study introduces definitions of the informal care, welfare policies on family caregivers, the systematization attempts of the care policy in the member states, it analyzes the recent past and currently perceived care policy processes and ideologies, and finally describes the specific situation in the former Communist countries through an example of a Hungarian care policy. The basic idea of the article is that although the demographic challenges are similar, but the service policy and the development of the institutional systems show significant differences in each country. In addition to the underdeveloped institutional service system in the different countries, the post-Communist countries lack the supporting tools of the caring family members.
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Nordic Arctic cooperation in ageing: Policy analysis of age-inclusive outdoor spaces
23-24Views:39In the last decade, several various policy strategies have been adopted in response to population ageing in the Arctic. Governmental actions have yet to be evaluated in terms of their efficacy. By making an overview of specified policy actions, we define successes and failures on the way to building thriving age-inclusive communities in the Nordic region of the Arctic.
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Attitudes of Roma adults towards the care of their elderly relatives
21-24Views:110Caring for the elderly is a challenge for any society even if it is a family or institution related issue (Bánlaki 2006). Numerous researches on the care of the elderly have been published, which help to make the care of the elderly as effective as possible (Djellal, Gallouj 2006). Within the framework of our research, we undertook to examine the attitudes (Arlotti, Aguilar-Hendrickson 2017) and experiences of the Roma towards elderly care.
Our aim was to explore the opinions of adult Roma people on the topic, as well as to identify possible cultural peculiarities in this issue (Hajime et al 2006; Da Roit 2010; Kehusmaa et al. 2013; Szabóné 2018).Method:
We have selected Roma adult people living in Budapest as our target group, most of them perform manual labour, who in the near future are likely to face the issue of caring for their elderly relatives or are already facing it in the capital. We have chosen this target group because there is a wide range of social services in the capital, and this gives us an insight into the confidence or lack of confidence in the social care system. The situation of the Roma elderly in the Hungarian social context is discussed with a nuanced approach based on Roma studies. The opinions and thoughts of 20 Roma adults are highlighted in our presentation, with whom we interviewed. We compiled a semi-structured set of questions for the target group. We tried to capture the attitude of the Roma towards elderly care along different dimensions (Allport, Lindzey 1960; Örkény, Vári 2009): individual responsibility (Nárai 2019) patterns of the family (Bánlaky 2001), financial and other resources (Bourdieu 1999) - assistance, trust in the social care system, readiness for elderly care (Heimlich 2008). Our research was carried out in November 2021 in compliance with the measures associated witht he COVID-19 situation. The interviews took 40-75 minutes long on average per person.
We compare international trends within formation on elderly care in Hungary and data on the health status of elderly Roma in Hungary (Kodner, 2006).Results:
The uniqueness of our research lies in the fact that we present the strategies of the Roma related to care in the Hungarian social reality, we identify practical problems and challenges, which can even be a breeding ground for future social policy measures (Schwiter et al. 2015). Poverty among the Roma, as well as discrimination and lower life expectancy compared to non-Roma (KSH, 2015) all contribute to the decision-making of Roma adults regarding the care of their elderly relatives, which is confirmed by the answers found in the interviews and the possibilities and strategies formed by the elderly care system (Kovács 2006). Our results showed that access to various social benefits, such as home help and public health care among others is affected during elderly care, and also has a key role to play, but also information among the Roma. In addition to trust in the social care system, financial means or lack of the influence coping strategies for elderly care. The results obtained can be used even for prevention projects aimed at local health preservation, or for any program aimed at improving the health status of the Roma.References
Allport, G. W., Vernon, P. E., Lindzey, G. A. (1960): A study of values, 3rd ed., Boston, Houghton.Mifflin.
Barbara Da Roit (2010): Strategies of Care. Changing Elderly Care in Italy and the Netherlands. Care and Welfare
Bánlaky Pál (2001): Családszociológia. Wesley János Lelkészképző Főiskola, Budapest.
Bánlaky Pál (2006): A család belső működése – A családon belüli kapcsolatok dinamikája. In: Czibere Ibolya (szek.) (2006): Családszociológia szöveggyűjtemény. Debrecen.
Bourdieu, Pierre (1999): Gazdasági tőke, kulturális tőke, társadalmi tőke. In: Angelusz Róbert (szerk.): A társadalmi rétegződés komponensei. Budapest, Új Mandátum Könyvkiadó, 156-177.
Faridah Djellal, Faïz Gallouj (2006): Innovation in care services for the elderly. The Service Industries Journal. Volume 26, 2006 - Issue 3
Hajime Orimo,Hideki Ito,Takao Suzuki,Atsushi Araki,Takayuki Hosoi, Motoji Sawabe (2006): Reviewing the definition of “elderly”. Geriatrics Gerontology, Volume 6, Issue 3 149-158.
Helmich K. (2008): A generativitás fogalma és a nemzedékek egymásrahatása. In: Gyáni G., Láng M. (szerk.): Generációk a történelemben. Hajnal István Kör – Társadalomtörténeti Egyesülete és a Nyíregyházi Főiskola Gazdasági Társadalomtudományi Kara, Nyíregyháza (2008) 115-120.
Karin Schwiter, Christian Berndt, Jasmine Truong (2015): Neoliberal austerity and the marketisation of elderly care. Social & Cultural Geography Volume 19, 2018 - Issue 3: Placing care in times of austerity
Kodner, D., and C. Spreeuwenberg. 2002. “Integrated Care: Meaning, Logic, Applications and
Implications – A Discussion Paper.” International Journal of Integrated Care Vol. 2 (October-December).
Kovács Éva (2006): Mari ésaz ő „cigánysága” – avagy a narratíva helye és ereje az etnicitás kutatásában. Tabula, 2006 9 (I):41-52.
KSH Statisztikai Tükör (2015). A hazai nemzetiségek demográgiai jellemzői. https://www.ksh.hu/docs/hun/xftp/stattukor/nemzetiseg_demografia.pdf (Utolsó letöltés ideje: 2021. 11. 03.)
Marco Arlotti, Manuel Aguilar-Hendrickson (2017): The vicious layering of multilevel governance in Southern Europe: The case of elderly care in Italy and Spain. Social Policy Administration, Volume52, Issue3, May 2018, 646-661.
Margaret McAdam (2008): Frameworks of Integrated Care for the Elderly: A Systematic Review. Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.
Nárai Márta (2019): A lokális társadalmi szerepvállalás, felelősségvállalás szereplői – egyesületek, alapítványok a helyi közösségek/helyi társadalom szolgálatában, Ünnepi tanulmánykötet a 70 éves Gáspár Mátyás tiszteletére, Magánkiadás, 151-161.
Örkény Antal – Vári István: Szempontok és kérdőjelek a magyarországi roma kisebbség tanulmányozásához. Fundamentum, 2009. 2. szám, 5-15.
Sari Kehusmaa, Ilona Autti-Rämö, Hans Helenius, Pekka Rissanen (2013): Does informal care reduce public care expenditure on elderly care? Estimates based on Finland’s Age Study. BMC Health Services Research 13, 317.
Szabóné dr. Kármán Judit (2018): A magyarországi cigány/roma népesség kulturantropológiai és orvosantropológiai megközelítésben. Romológiai füzetek 2. DRHE, Debrecen, 5-76. -
Narratives of Senior Social Entrepreneurship in the Silver Economy
55-56Views:66The basic assumption of the paper is the recognition that the complexity of the challenges related to population ageing forces the development of cooperative links in the area of the silver economy between public policy entities representing various sectors. In other words, there is a need for more intensive and better-coordinated cooperation between organisations in the commercial sector, public sector, non-governmental sector, informal sector and social economy sector (e.g., cooperatives).
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Az idősek nappali ellátása és az aktív idősödés lehetséges kapcsolata - Problémák,nehézségek, jó gyakorlatok a COVID-19 járvány tükrében
135-138Views:315Bevezetés, problémafelvetés
Az idősek korcsoportjának drasztikus növekedése komoly kérdéseket vet fel a különböző rendszerek, mint például gazdasági, egészségügyi vagy szociális ellátórendszer minőségi biztosításával és hatékony fenntarthatóságával kapcsolatban. Az előremutató statisztikák vonatkozásában még évtizedekig emelkedő tendenciát mutat a 65 éves és idősebb (vagy a WHO számításait követve a 60 éves és idősebb) személyek társadalmon belüli aránya. Míg 2020-ban a 60 éves vagy idősebb személyek száma 1 milliárd fő volt a világon, addig 2050-re e tekintetben 34%-os emelkedést prognosztizálnak (WHO, 2020). Az európai illetve magyar adatok sem térnek el ettől, az Eurostat számításai szerint a 65 éves és idősebb népesség társadalmon belüli aránya 2020 és 2050 között 20,6%-ról 29,5%-ra emelkedik (Eurostat, 2021), míg a magyarországi számok alapján 2019 és 2050 között 19,6%-ról 27,8%-ra növekszik ugyanezen érték (European Comission, 2021). Az olyan váratlan események, mint a COVID-19 világjárvány szintén komoly hatást gyakorolnak a szociális ellátásokra, különös tekintettel a járvány által egyik legérzékenyebben érintett csoport, az idős személyek számára biztosított ellátásokra. Az aktuális intézményrendszer a jelenlegi működési feltételekkel (tárgyi, anyagi, humánerőforrás) sem képes maradéktalanul kiszolgálni az igényeket, így amennyiben nem történik érdemi változás, rövid időn belül egyre nagyobb nyomás nehezedik rá, melynek feloldásaként elkerülhetetlenné válik a rendszer újrastrukturálása, olyan koncepciók, mint az aktív idősödés, ellátásba integrálása.Az aktív idősödés és az idősek nappali ellátása
Az aktív idősödés elképzelésének megjelenését vizsgálva egészen az 1960-as évekig szükséges visszamenni, ekkor az ún. disengagement theory, mint az első időseket érintő egységes elképzelés jelent meg (Cumming & Henry, 1961). Ezt követően több egymást tartalmilag megközelítő fogalom formálódott a szakirodalomban, alkalmanként egymással párhuzamosan pl: produktív idősödés (Butler & Gleeson, 1985), sikeres idősödés (Rowe & Kahn, 1987, 1997), aktív idősödés (WHO, 2002), vagy éppen az egészséges idősödés (WHO, 2015, 2020). Közülük mégis az aktív idősödés fogalma tekinthető a leginkább komplex elképzelésnek. Kialakításakor törekedtek arra, hogy az érintettek csoportjának vonatkozásában az élet minden területét bevonva alkossanak új elképzelést, akkor amikor az aktív idősödésről beszélnek. Így jött létre az aktív idősödés leginkább átfogó megfogalmazása, melyet manapság is alkalmaznak: „az aktív idősödés egy olyan folyamat, mely optimalizálja a lehetőségeket az egészségügy, társadalmi részvétel és biztonság területein, hogy az idősödés folyamata során erősítse az életminőség pozitív irányú változását.” (WHO, 2002). Az aktív idősödés nappali ellátásban való megjelenése, ennek vizsgálata abból a szempontból is érdekes, hogy feltételezhetően a nappali ellátásban megjelenő ellátottak a leginkább függetlenek és önállóak, azaz aktívak, akik kisebb segítségekkel képesek saját otthonukban élni. Így magának az aktív idősödésnek a vizsgálata feltételezhetően az ő esetükben pontos képet mutat, hogy az elképzelés jelen van-e és amennyiben igen az életük mely területén vizsgálható leginkább.Módszertan
Kevert módszertan mentén korábbi kvantitatív és kvalitatív adatfelvételek eredményei kerülnek prezentálásra, melyek a 7 régiós központban működő idősek számára nappali ellátást biztosító intézményekben kerültek felvételre. A kutatás kvantitatív szakasza a kényelmi mintavétel alkalmazásával készült, ennek elsődlegesen időbeli és anyagi okai voltak. Az első adatfelvételi szakasz során az aktív idősödés index (Zaidi et al., 2013) által is használt mérőeszköz került használatra apróbb változtatásokkal a magyar minta sajátosságai és az index mérőeszközét ért korábbi kritikák okán. 397 fő ellátott töltötte ki az anonim, önkitöltős kérdőívet. A kutatás kvalitatív szakaszában a régiós központokban működő idősek nappali ellátását vezetőkkel interjúk (8 db interjú), majd fókuszcsoportos formában az idősek nappali ellátásában dolgozókkal készültek adatfelvételek (7 db fókuszcsoportos interjú).Konklúziók
Az egyre növekvő ellátotti igények okán az idősek számára biztosított szociális ellátások, köztük az idősek nappali ellátása is, egyértelműen átgondolásra és megalapozott keretek mentén történő átalakításra szorulnak. Az aktív idősödéshez köthető fontos területeknek jelentős része alacsony gyakorisággal jelenik meg a mintában. Az önkéntesség csupán a válaszadók 10,5%-nak életében van jelen minimum havi rendszerességgel, míg az info-kommunikációs ismeretek, illetve eszközök használata szintén a minta 35-36%-a esetében releváns. Fontos megjegyezni, hogy a válaszadók 20%-nak háztartásában a számítógép/internet kapcsolat hiánya anyagi okokra vezethető vissza. Az info-kommunikációs eszközök és tudás iránti növekvő igényt az interjúk és a fókuszcsoportos interjúk is alátámasztották, azonban ennek elsődleges okaként az adatfelvétel idején kezdődő és erősödő COVID-19 járvány miatti lezárásokat és az online kapcsolattartás felértékelődését jelölték meg. Az ellátottak körében tapasztalt alacsony IKT tudás mellett, több helyszínen felmerült a szakemberek ilyen típusú tudással való támogatásának szükségessége is. Az aktív idősödés index által mellőzött, azonban az önállóságot erősen támogató háztartáson belüli akadálymentesítés aránya szintén alacsony a válaszadók körében (25%). Az interjúk és fókuszcsoportok kapcsán jellemzően a makro szintű, szervezeti problémákat jelezték magas gyakorisággal a válaszadók pl.: ütköző szolgáltatások problémája, ellátottak szolgáltatásba és saját otthonukba jutása, speciális igényű (elsősorban demens) idős ellátottak ellátásának biztosítása magasabb férőhely számmal.Irodalmak:
Butler, R., & Gleason, H. P. (1985). Enhancing vitality in later life. USA: Springer
Cumming, E. & Henry, W. E. (1961). Growing Old. New York: Basic.
European Comission (2021). The 2021 Ageing Report: Economic and Budgetary Projections for the EU Member States (2019-2070), Institutional Paper 148., Brussels.
Eurostat (2021). Population structure indicators at national level. Letöltve: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/DEMO_PJANIND__custom_1210940/defa ult/table?lang=en (letöltve: 2021.09.18)
Rowe, J. W., & Kahn, R. L. (1987). Human aging: usual and successful. Science, 237(4811), 143–149. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.3299702
Rowe, J. W., & Kahn, R. L. (1997). Successful aging. The Gerontologist, 37(4), 433–440. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/37.4.433
World Health Organisation (WHO) (2002). Acive Ageing – A policy Framework, 12. old. Letöltve: https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/67215 (letöltve: 2021.09.18)
World Health Organization (WHO) (2015). World Report on Ageing and Health. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization. Letöltve: https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/186463 (letöltve: 2021.07.15
World Health Organization(WHO) (2020). Decade of Healthy Ageing 2020-2030. Letölve: https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/decade-of-healthy-ageing/final-decade-proposal/decade-proposal-final-apr2020-en.pdf?sfvrsn=b4b75ebc_25&download=true (letöltve: 2021.09.18) -
Physical Restraint Use within Maltese Long-Term Care Settings
9-10Views:41The holistic study looked at the locally unexplored environment, providing a platform of knowledge base and information on physical restraint use. The project secured relevant information focal to the older person residents, health care providers and policy makers within long-term care settings.
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Democratic values – discriminative practices regarding to the status of the elderly
64-76.Views:160The scientific study of gerontology in Hungary has a short history. Perhaps that is why the
meaning of gerontology is erroneously restricted to the type belonging to biology and medical
sciences by many. The present study argues that human and social science gerontology does
have reasons for its existence. We outline the specific areas of research done by philosophy
and ethics in connection with the situation of the existence of people, especially that of the
elderly and describe what their mission consists of. We analyse the history of Western
philosophical thinking and the moral ideas and values formed by this thinking in thousands of
years. The basic principles of modern democratic societies are constituted by these ideas:
liberty, equality, justice, brotherhood, human dignity and human rights. In practice these
rights are often violated, for example the elderly people are discriminated against their age,
which violates their equality and justice as well as human dignity. Their disadvantageous
situation is obvious in the economy, politics, culture, education and relations between
generations. The task of ethics is the principle criticism of these practices along the Western
values thus contribution to the formation of human conditions. The demographic crisis of the
continent is viewed by the EU as based on modern age policy, aids, projects and classical
Western values. -
Growing Ageing Population and European Policies
27-28Views:109Introduction to Social change due to aged population
Increased elderly population in Europe has many factors, it took decades what is happening now. Europe’s low fertility rate, Europe’s migration from developing to developed country, high life expectancy and immigration laws. The developmental strategies of G20 countries are significantly interlinked with the economic and population development policies. The recognition of ageing population is followed by the Japan’s ageing population process which is also mentioned in most of the Eu data on comparison for the ageing population strategies. It is a visible change that social and economic developments causes higher life expectancy and better health in Europe.
The average middle age is increasing, and it is predicted about 4.5 years by 2019 to 2050 it may reach 48.2 years as European middle age. In the most developed parts of the world, elderly population was discussed long ago, and serious steps were taken for global improvements for older people. As the life expectancy increases dependency increases that creates pressure to fulfil the needs of elderly for health, socially, and economically. Increasing number of elderly populations, is actual rise in social, cultural, and economic responsibilities for welfare systems, health care systems and individuals. More elderly people, more reliance needed number of old age homes, elderly rehabilitation centers and Palliative care centers are increased.Population ageing is not a sudden change in population, but it took decades to consider about the population phenomenon. The European social change has major cause of ageing population that may has dark impact to the future perspective. In current situation birth rate is low, mortality rate is also low and life expectancy is high which is creating a lot pressure on the economic growth and to run the economic cycle the labour force is insufficient, health care systems are updating each year since COVID pandemic and system failure was visible in many OECD countries as well in such condition there is a lot more pressure on the women to balance birth ratio at the same time women is considered as “Sandwich Generation” by some of the European researchers, women cares for the both younger and the older generation nowadays.
Such ageing population determinants push the policy makers to design such policies and laws to combat this situation to secure future generations. Some of the EU policies to promote Active ageing and solidarity between generations, Silver Economy project to provide elderly jobs to decrease dependency ratio and Healthy ageing programs are running but still there is long way to show up positive results if migration policies will not be softened at certain points to keep achieving sustainable development goals in Europe.
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Insights into the lived experience of Long-Term Care and End of Life Transitions in Malta
3-4Views:45In this keynote presentation, I explore the profound implications of the global demographic shift towards an ageing population. I delve into the challenges and opportunities presented by this shift, using Malta as a unique case study with 25% of its citizens aged 60 and older. The dense population poses challenges for infrastructure, healthcare access, and the overall well-being of older individuals.
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A new approach to Hungarian elderly care in Romania. - Scientific and professional workshop at the Partium Christian University
159-166Views:72Between October 20-21, 2022, the Human Sciences Department of Partium Christian University of Oradea in partnership with the Department of Social Work and Social Policy of the University of Szeged organized a scientific-professional workshop entitled New Perspectives in Elderly Care, in order to provide space and create a long-term opportunity for the meeting and dialogue of professionals working in the field of elderly care in Partium and Transylvania as institution managers, program managers, social workers, elderly caregivers, and researchers. The following review provides a retrospective of the event with the intention of formulating conclusions that will help moving forward.
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Decade of Healthy Aging 2020-2030: international and local arctic context
30-31Views:45Healthy aging has become an important policy issue at all levels of the society. The key international document is the World Health Organization’s (WHO) plan for a Decade of Healthy Ageing 2020–2030 which is the 2nd action plan of the WHO ‘s Global strategy on aging and health [1]. The Plan consists of 10 years of concerted, catalytic, sustained collaboration to improve the lives of older people, their families, and their communities. Older people themselves are at the core of this plan, and it brings together a variety of actors: governments, civil society, international agencies, professionals, media, and the private sector. The Plan also notes that healthy aging is not only a healthcare issue but also needs to engage many other sectors.
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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:162The 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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Health challenges of the elderly: a comparative study of the need for health social workers in Nigeria and Bangladesh
11-14Views:104The established fact is that the population with the highest consumer of healthcare services is the elderly because of the increasing demand for adaptive health services accessible to the elderly. As the elderly continue to age, there is a decline in the health condition, developed societies have explored and employed several multidisciplinary approaches to the care of the elderly. The focus is on social work as a profession.
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Összefoglaló - AGE Platform Europe Policy Statement. Carer’s leave and reconciling work and family life for older workers
36-41Views:128Szerző: AGE Platform Europe 2016. február
Az eredeti állásfoglalás forrása:
https://age-platform.eu/images/.../Carers_leave_and_reconciling_workAz AGE Platform Europe egy nemzetközi n szervezet, mely az Európai Unió döntéshozatali mechanizmusaiban az idősek érdekeit igyekszik képviselni. A Gerontológiai Tudományos és Koordinációs Központ – mely a Debreceni Egyetem Egészségügyi Kar Gerontológiai Tanszékén működik 2011 óta a szervezet teljes jogú tagja. A nyilatkozat a gondozás és a munka összeegyeztetésének nehézségére, valamint a gondozók támogatásának szükségességére hívja fel a tagállamok figyelmét.