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Introductory part of this work contain, in short notice, attitudes about suicide through history. Then there is a part about etiology of suicidal behaviour among old and younger persons, epidemiology of suicide in last decade of XX century in some foreign countries and by us, as well as statistical data of number of hospitalized patients for this reasons in one psychiatric institution in the same period. The goal of these investigations was to examine the influence of external stresogenic life events on suicidal behaviour among older population (over 65 year old) and younger (20-30 years old) hospitalized in psychiatric institute for suicidal attempt. For significant social factors in this period are considered: economic crises, war, migration and so conditioned bad financial situation, unemployment, loss of family members, maladaptation in new environment. There are also taken in consideration important factors of marital family relations of inquires older population belong in suicidal risk category group, and younger in suicidal attempt category group. We came to data on that examined group had more stresogenic life events in the year before, comparing to control groups. Bad family and marital relations, in experimental groups, as well as feeling of loneliness and bad financial situation, unemployment of younger and loss of family members of older are special emphasized factors. After results and discusion there is also suggestion of suicide prevention.
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The aim of this paper is to shed more light on population aging by using indicators such as years of service and average years in retirement, since the most benefits from the Fund for Pension and Disability Insurance are paid for elderly. As a method for better understanding the structure of pensioners, we used the data on years one spends as employee before gaining pension benefits, so we could get better information about previous activity of retirees, but also to emphasize legal issues that have increased the number of early retirement recipients. Many countries do not allow early retirement, so the limitation of minimum years required for the early retirement is necessary for reduction of pension spending. Another important characteristic of the financial sustainability of the Fund for Pension and Disability Insurance are the average years in retirement. Given the fact that the life expectancy of the elderly is slightly increasing, it is realistic to expect longer use of pension of old-age and disability pensioners, who are on average younger. Apart from showing the level of financial sustainability of the fund, this indicator shows the characteristics of mortality in the country. Pension Fund data show certain development tendencies that will continue in the future because all processes related to population are long-term, including those related to pensioners that are beside socio-economic, influenced by demographic factors.
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Reminiscence-based activities developed as a practical intervention in care relationships with older people during the early 1980s in the UK and USA. Core to these was the acknowledgement that remembering the past and events in individual past lives could be a rewarding and enhancing experience for older people. Developments drew on the observations of the psychogeriatrician Robert Butler and a commitment to dealing with issues relating to the quality of life of frail older people. Using an example from the UK, this chapter considers what, at the time, emerged as a movement committed to legitimising reflection on the past, where previously this had been considered symptomatic of mental decline. It was argued that to encourage older people to talk about the past would improve cognitive states, prevent negative feelings, combat isolation and enhance feelings of self-worth. Since the 1980s successive decades have seen the re-discovery of reminiscence as a positive intervention in the lives of older people with a focus on dementia being the current emphasis. In this chapter I argue, with support from research into reminiscence-based activities, that participation should be understood as being less about modifying aspects of the ageing process and more about the humanising of social care relationships, within families, communities and in care settings, through the recognition and celebration of individuality and life experience in old age.
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According to demographic prognosis the process of ageing of the Lower Silesian population is going to intensify greatly. Such changes will require updating local and regional social policy. Local governments will be obliged to take actions, both in short- and long-term perspectives, as far as adjusting plans to the present demographic situation is concerned (especially issues of health and social care). The article presents the analysis of the Lower Silesian Strategy of Social Integration for 2014-2020 as well as The Strategy of Solving Social Problems of Wołów Commune for 2016-2026 and also the legal basis of the issue introduced in the article.
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The imprisonment of elderly prisoners in the Republic of Croatia is organized in such a way as to provide prisoners with accommodation appropriate to their age and health status and to provide them with optional occupational therapy and access to health care. The difference in individualized programs for executing imprisonment in the elderly in relation to other prisoners is mainly manifested in accommodation, food, health care and partly in benefits in terms of more frequent contact with the outside world.The specifics of the program for the execution of prison sentences for the elderly are described, as well as the particularities that it contains in relation to the specific needs of the elderly. Also, the problems that the elderly in the prison system face. Furthermore, numerical indicators on the elderly serving their imprisonment in the Republic of Croatia are presented.Particularly, the paper seeks to highlight the need for special interests related to the crime of older persons and their needs both in serving prison sentences and in organizing post-penitentiary reception, as stated by the very purpose of executing a prison sentence: training a person serving a prison sentence for freedom to live in accordance with law and social rules, and human treatment and respect for dignity.
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Increasing share of elderly people in aging population affects all categories of age and social sectors. Society responds to the situation through a necessary change in social area and growing importance of social care for the elderly people. Number of factors determine quality of life in older age, including how they succeed in construction of the new self. Decreased frequency, intensity and diversity of personal interactions often lead to social exclusion. Loneliness is among the most serious concerns in older generation. Deeper levels of a multi-layered selfhood are less affected by the disrupted social construction, which one observes among the older people. It seems that the anchoring of personal identity in place and relationships grows in significance as people age. We investigate construction of selfhood from fragmented memories of people with Alzheimer's disease. Even in conditions of severely affected independence in everyday life we are finding a rich memory, which reflects their personal relationships linked to the places of past. Source observations use a qualitative probe of five clients in a specialized facility for the people living with Alzheimer's disease. We discuss our findings in the context of research focusing on social aspects of aging and the changing meaning of gradually lost memory.
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In the past few decades, ageing has become a serious global issue. The concept of active aging and its incorporation into different type of social services (e.g. day care for elderly people) is one of the possible solutions. The main goal of this research was to evaluate the status of clients in Hungarian day care institutions. Another important goal is to explore which domains of the concept of active and independent ageing were already considered and applied in Hungarian day care service and where they should be strengthened. The questionnaire was based on the Active Ageing Index questionnaire (ZAIDI et al. 2013). 14% of the observed sample was 64 years old or younger, 38% was 65–74 years old, 36% was 75–84 years old, 12% was 85 years old or older. Most of the participants (74%) were women. More than half of the sample were widowed. One third of the sample received some kind of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) device. There was a strong connection between the frequency of ICT usage and education variables. Accessibility, which was also a facilitator of active and independent ageing, came up only in 25% of the sample. Mental well-being – as a new variable – was analyzed with principle component analysis from five former variables with the highest rate in the Central Hungarian region. Satisfying physical security was reported by only 56% of the sample, more often among men (p = 0.03). Reinforcing the preventive aspect of the service, propagating it amongst freshly retired people, and including not only widows, but other potential clients as well could be the key points of service development. To intensify the potential points in the service connected to active ageing (accessibility, volunteering in late-life, use of ICT devices etc.) could be a key factor in the improvement of day care services.
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The Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) is a multidisci¬plinary and cross-national panel database of microdata on health, socio-economic status and social and family networks of about 140,000 individuals aged 50 or older. SHARE covers 27 European countries and Israel. It is a research infrastructure that the European Commission has positioned as one of the priority projects in the Euro¬pean Research Area and one of the most significant panel studies in social sciences. This paper aims to present the methodological profile of the SHARE study with a specific reference to the period since 2015 when Croatia joined it. It also examines the process of SHARE study implementation in Croatia with a detailed presentation of modules and questions from the questionnaires in the sixth and seventh waves. The specific purpose of this paper is to emphasise the content and research opportunities of the SHARE study for the Croatian scholarly community. This paper highlights the specific aspects of the eighth wave of SHARE in which face-to-face interviewing has been suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, and a methodological turn has been made, i.e. face-to-face interviews have been replaced with a short CATI (telephone) survey called “SHARE Corona.”As a panel study, SHARE collects data in waves, every two years since 2004, sup¬ported by CAPI (computer-assisted personal interviewing). A SHARE interview is quite long, with an approximate duration of one hour. Same respondents are inter¬viewed in regular waves, but new respondents can be added to refresher samples. New respondents help to maintain the core sample and deal with sample attrition. However, SHARE invests significant efforts in recovering panel respondents who have participated in the previous waves. The strategy to minimise the absence of panel respondents includes regular contact with respondents, i.e. panel care (send¬ing birthday cards, season’s greetings, brochures with selected SHARE results to re¬spondents or providing incentives). The SHARE study relies on ex-ante harmonisa¬tion and includes a core survey instrument that is common in all member countries. Strict comparability is crucial. Comparability is ascertained through identical ques¬tion design, a careful translation process with external certification, an electronic survey instrument (CAPI, CASE CTRL starting from Wave 8), and common training procedures ascertained by a train-the-trainer programme. In addition to the variety of electronic instruments, SHARE relies on several “physical” survey instruments, which are mainly used to obtain objective health measures. These instruments in¬clude dynamometers (to measure respondents’ grip strength) and peak flow me¬ters (to measure respondents’ lung capacity). Besides, SHARE collects data from the walking speed test and chair stand test, data on waist circumference, self-reported weight and height, and biomarkers from a sample of dried blood spots (HbA1c, total cholesterol, C-reactive protein and vitamin D).In the participating SHARE countries, the institutional conditions with respect to sampling are so different that a uniform sampling design for the entire project is infeasible. Good sampling frames for the target population of 50+ individuals and households with at least one 50+ individual do not exist or cannot be used in all countries. Most countries keep registers of individuals that enable stratification by age. In some of them, these registers are maintained at a regional level. In these cases, a two- or multi-stage design is needed, in which regions are sampled first, and then individuals are selected within these regions. As a result, sampling designs used vary from a simple random selection of households to rather complicated multi-stage de¬signs. Taking into account the size of the population in each participating country, SHARE calculates weights to reduce the potential selection bias associated with non-response errors. In the Croatian wave six, the sampling of potential respondents was based on probabilities from the administrative register of age-appropriate individu¬als. From the database of insured persons of the Croatian Health Insurance Fund (HZZO), 4,990 persons born in 1963 and earlier were randomly selected. Each person received an invitation letter for participation in the SHARE study in Croatia. The response rate in SHARE wave six was 43.7% at the household level, while the indi¬vidual response rate was 41.9%. These rates resulted in 2,495 individual surveys con¬ducted in 1,588 households in Croatia. In all countries that had refresher samples, the response rate was 51.3% at the household level and 46.8% at the individual level. The seventh SHARE wave, called SHARELIFE, was mainly retrospective, accomplishing a full EU coverage. As a part of the seventh wave, a relatively small refresher sample was selected in Croatia i.e. 346 interviews were conducted in 234 households. The minimum satisfactory response rate of 30% was achieved at the household level. In Croatia, the retention rate of respondents in the seventh wave was 84.6%, which was the highest retention rate of respondents between waves six and seven. In Slovenia, it was 82.9%, in Greece 82.8%, in Estonia 82.2%, in Belgium 70.4%, in France 64.9%, and in Italy 62%. That retention rate in Croatia resulted in 2,062 SHARELIFE inter¬views with an additional 101 end-of-life interviews (interviews about the last year of life of a deceased respondent). The sampling procedure for the refresher sample in wave eight in Croatia followed the standard phases of two-stage sampling. Primary sampling units were polling stations selected based on a probability proportional to the number of voters aged 50+ at each polling station. The sample was stratified by counties and by settlement size. In the second phase, the gross sample of individuals aged 50 or older was selected randomly. The representativeness of the sample was achieved by weighting a set of eight calibration variables (men and women in age groups 50–59, 60–69, 70–79, and 80+).Following the spread of the coronavirus pandemic across Europe, in March 2020, all SHARE countries suspended field surveys. By that date, 1,279 panel interviews (including end-of-life interviews) and 835 refresher interviews had been collected in Croatia. In response to the pandemic, the SHARE Central, in cooperation with national teams, created the SHARE Corona questionnaire, designed for a computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI), lasting about 20–25 minutes. This survey, con¬ducted in 27 European countries and Israel from June to August 2020, included panel respondents only.The SHARE study is a prime example of a truly European research infrastructure that exists largely because of its European dimension. It is crucial to point out that the data collected by the survey questionnaire are harmonised ex-ante across Europe, which significantly contributes to the improvement of international comparative re¬search. The main value of this project lies with the diversity of collected data, with each participating country contributing to this diversity with data on living condi¬tions, health, pension and social policies. Therefore, SHARE is much more than just a group of national surveys. The SHARE study today faces a number of challenges, the most prominent ones being the retention of European coverage due to lack of fund¬ing and the future method of surveying in the light of COVID-19. In Croatia, joining the SHARE study was marked by significant challenges. Firstly, SHARE is the first longitudinal study on demographic ageing conducted in our country. Secondly, the SHARE survey requires ample financial resources, so the size of the Croatian sam¬ple had to be adjusted accordingly and to meet high scientific standards set by the SHARE study. The third significant challenge that the SHARE research team faced were barriers to accessing the sampling framework. Substantial efforts were under¬taken to demonstrate that the SHARE study adheres to all ethical standards and regulations related to the protection of the personal data of respondents. Another is¬sue was the limited number of survey agencies in Croatia that can conduct demand¬ing surveys of this type. This was especially evident in the sixth wave, when certain logistical issues arose because the fieldwork phase started quite late (end of June 2015), leading to the stagnation of surveys in some parts of the country (Dalmatia, Istria). Difficulties related to the recruitment of interviewers and their withdrawal in the early stages of the survey required significant efforts during the last month of the fieldwork. However, experiences from the sixth wave contributed to the extremely successful implementation of the seventh wave (SHARELIFE).
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This paper discusses intergenerational solidarity in care from the perspective of women, focusing on mothers as the main providers. It has been carried out in the context of very low fertility, negative population change, and advanced ageing in Serbia, amid conditions of strong familism. Two types of care were analysed: care of children and of elderly parents. Qualitative research was carried out in two towns and their outskirts: Belgrade and Kraljevo. The main method was a case study based on interviews and observation. The first aim was to shed light on the informal support mothers/parents receive around children: who helps them, what help they receive, and why they receive help. The results supported the authors’ initial expectations that mothers/parents rely heavily on grandparents, primarily grandmothers. The help grand-parents provide is reported to be daily, extensive, and exhaustive. Mothers, how-ever, deem that it contributes to happy and healthy ageing. Although caring for elderly people is still not widespread among respondents, they nevertheless presented their views on the issue. Again, in line with initial assumptions, care of elderly people was shown to be an indispensable part of family life. The empirical results reflect that the main explanation stems from strong solidarity based on kinship, which thus moulds both attitudes and behaviour. Elderly parents will be taken care of by their children, and this is considered natural, self-understandable, and an expression of vast gratitude. Putting elderly people into institutional care (nursing homes) is a rare choice that is only made when they cannot live on their own and take care of themselves, or if there are many elderly kin who need support.
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On July 22, 1908, Pope Pius X established the Association of Our Lady of a Happy Death as universal for the whole Church. On May 30, 1987, the Primate of Poland, Cardinal Joseph Glemp, approved the Polish Branch of the Association at the Shrine to the Virgin Mary in Górka Klasztorna. He also permitted the Missionaries of the Holy Family to carry out this work. The purpose of the Association is the propagation of prayer and preparation for a good death. The article presents in details history and mission of the Association, also called the Apostolate of Good Death.
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The text describes, based on own research, the case of a 65-year-old woman with Asperger’s syndrome. The main aim of the research was to answer the question: what is the age of the examined woman with Asperger’s syndrome? The article begins with a theoretical introduction to the discussed issues, where the most important issues concerning Asperger’s syndrome and old age and aging are presented with emphasis on continuity theory. Next, the characteristics of the examined woman in the context of her family, living, educational and professional situation, health and interpersonal relations were taken into account. The article concludes with conclusions and a summary. It should be stressed that the described case can only be treated as a pilot study and preparation of the ground for further explorations of a wider scope.
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The article is devoted to the social and educational aspects of loneliness and solitude of the elderly. The starting point of the considerations was to define the concept of old age and to indicate the main problems and crises of old people. Next, the essence of loneliness and solitude was explained. Then, referring to the results of selected studies and analyses, the problem of loneliness and solitude of the elderly was discussed. The social diversity and causes and effects of the considered phenomena, as well as ways of overcoming them, were pointed out. Attention was also paid to the role of education in the field of loneliness and solitude of senior citizens.
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Objective: Maintaining healthcare services consumption as needed during a pandemic crisis is important, in general, and specifically for older adults. Therefore, the current study aimed to examine factors associated with experiences related to healthcare services among Israeli older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among 261 older adults (aged 60+). Participants completed measures of perceived health status, COVID-19 perceived risk, knowledge about COVID-19, depression, coping resources, experiences with healthcare services (contact with a family physician, fear of contracting the virus via direct contact with the healthcare system). Two multiple regressions were calculated for the following dependent variables: contact with a family physician during COVID-19, and fear of contracting the virus via direct contact with the healthcare system during COVID-19. Results: Older adults’ contact with a family physician during COVID-19 was lower than their contact prior to the pandemic. A higher extent of contact with a family physician during COVID-19 was related to higher knowledge about COVID-19. In addition, a higher extent of fear of contracting the virus via direct contact with the health system during COVID-19 was related to lower years of education, higher COVID-19 perceived risk, and lower knowledge about COVID-19. Conclusions: The results could provide public health policymakers with a more complete picture of the impact of the COVID-19 crisis among older adults. This study highlights the characteristics and factors that encourage/discourage older adults from seeking healthcare services during a virus outbreak, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The Covid-19 epidemic has most affected old people, not those who live at home – but those in old age homes. In Slovenia, as many as four-fifths of those deceased in the epidemic were residents of these institutions. The analysis shows that the essential moment of infection is institutionality, not age, that it is in this sense almost an institutional epidemic. The make-up of total institutions presents a significantly higher risk of transmission of infection – due to increased human concentration and increased frequency of contacts, but also because of the institutional structure and ethos, which objectify residents and deprive residents of the power of action. The deceased residents can be seen as (passive) victims not only of the virus, but also of the institutional nature of the organisation of care (prevailing in Slovenia). This was neglected in the debate so far, the measures introduced did not allow transfer to community care, which would provide residents with the level of safety comparable to the population at large, such services allowing a greater degree of self-isolation and control of contacts. The deceased residents are victims of a delay in deinstitutionalisation and in introduction of a potent, community based long-term care. These are the pressing tasks for the future, if we are to ensure at least safety for old people, and with it a life worth living.
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Demographic aging, which is increasingly becoming a reality in the Republic of North Macedonia, brings challenges for the development of appropriate social services, according to the needs of the elderly, but also the need to acquire and deepen the knowledge of professionals who provide these services. All this is imposed as a need for one purpose and that is to meet the needs of the elderly. The professional development of social protection professionals in the Republic of North Macedonia is part of a comprehensive process that seeks to follow European trends for continuous professional development. However, the fact that the development of social services for the elderly in North Macedonia follows experiences increased dynamics in recent years, and is expected to develop faster with the reformed social protection system from 2019, imposes the need to study the knowledge whereby professionals enter the provision of social services, as well as the need to expand and deepen them. This paper is aimed at studying the knowledge of professionals who provide social services to the elderly, and the results of quantitative research conducted with professionals, indicate the need to strengthen them during vocational education and the process of continuous professional development.
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The article focuses on the question how maintenance costs impact the potential resettlement of elderly people into suitable accommodation units. In Slovenia, more than 80 percent of households own their own homes, and among these more than 60 percent of owners are over 65 years of age. The main instrument used to measure their opinions was a questionnaire which 471 participants over 65 years of age were asked to complete. The main conclusion is that despite high maintenance costs, Slovenian participants would not sell their property under any circumstances, not even in return for a better-quality living environment. Their attachment to the environment in which they live is extremely high. They prefer to solve problems related to maintaining rather than moving to a more suitable home or environment. We explain this to be due to their strong social affiliation to the micro-environment, strong intergenerational attachment, and the reluctance of Slovenians to migrate.
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Objectives. This article aims to research the influence of the family on some basic psychological phenomena in old age, its ability to influence, stabilize and delay the psychological changes typical of old age. To this end, a number of research papers on this issue were checked, all being elaborated by authors working on such topics. Material and methods. An extensive analysis of the literary sources on this topic from the last few years has been made. Articles, papers and books showing the role of the family for the psychological functioning of old people have been checked by hand. A search on keywords and phrases in the specialised databases was done. Results. The analysis that was done showed some already expected tendencies. During the various stages of human life there are different relationships that predominate. When it comes to old age, these are companionship, care for the other, sharing, spiritual communication, etc. The family proves to be the main source of communication for the elders. The old person can most fully develop his repertoire of roles in it, and can optimally satisfy both his basic and higher order needs. Conclusions. The family has a unique role for the psychological functioning of the aging people. Attention, respect and warmth are needed for being calm in elderly people. Taking care of the old person is an expression of care and faithfulness, and being around them really matters for them and contributes to their psychological balance.
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This study provides insight into the intervention results of my dissertation. The main topic of the dissertation is the mental health care for older people, especially in coping and in maintaining their mental health. Right at the start, I briefly present the literature review of the topic: I write about the concept of mental hygiene, aspects of successful aging, coping strategies, tasks of the old age and the role of a mental health professional in their life. In the intervention section, I shortly summarize the conversations with three elderly people, in the end I describe the results, my own experiences, opinion and draw conclusions.
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Dementia affects 50 million people worldwide, but we also have to consider their families and caregivers. An appropriate management of dementia makes sure the treatment reaches its purpose both from the perspective of the patient and the caregiver. The tests used in evaluating the patients with dementia included in our study are mostly part of the standard geriatric evaluation which is common practice in all geriatric clinics. In addition, NPIQ test is useful in determining both the severity of neuropsychiatric symptoms and the caregiver distress; caregivers are mostly affected by the behavioral disturbances. In our study the antidementia medication has favorable effects regarding the impact on the caregiver, bringing benefits from the very beginning (the first 3 months), more important in the given order of memantine, combined therapy and acetylcholinesterase inhibitor; the benefits last until 18 months.
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