Socijalna uključenost u zajednicu starijih osoba s invaliditetom
The social inclusion of elderly people with disabilities into the community

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this study was to gain knowledge regarding the integration of elderly people with disabilities into the community. The introductory section presents legislation and national strategies and programmes for the social inclusion of elderly people with disabilities in Croatia and both domestic and foreign studies on the inclusion of elderly people with disabilities into the community. The research for this study was carried out in 2009 by means of a survey with 107 people with disabilities over 65 years of age, as a part of the project entitled “The Social Position of People with Disabilities in Croatia” implemented by the Ministry of Family, Veterans’ Affairs and Intergenerational Solidarity on the entire territory of the Republic of Croatia. Only the data about elderly people with disabilities were extracted for this paper. The objective was to examine the differences between some aspects of social inclusion, such as involvement in NGOs and cultural events, as well as the level of awareness among the population of elderly people with disabilities regarding the self-assessment of their degree of disability, household structure, and satisfaction with their present life in general. The results showed that the degree of self-perceived disability affects the involvement of elderly people with disabilities in the local community and their satisfaction with life, while household structure (whether a person is single or lives with other family members) was not significant. As many as 52.3% of the respondents do not consider themselves active members of the local community. The findings indicated the need for more intensive support of local communities in the inclusion of elderly people with disabilities into community activities.

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