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• Growing Ageing Population and European Policies

  27-28

  Rehana Sindho Kabooro

  Views:

  75

  Introduction 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.

• Democratic values – discriminative practices regarding to the status of the elderly

  64-76.

  J. Hell

  Views:

  133

  The 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.

• Social security and safety of older adults in Poland

  9-11

  Views:

  78

  Poland’ 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.)

• Social service delivery for senior citizens in rural Philippines and secrets to longevity of Apo Whang-od

  2-14

  Climson L. Balangue

  Views:

  97

  Access 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.