对波兰人口老龄化及人口、社会趋势的看法

波兰·诺瓦克
1
The Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce, Faculty of Health Sciences,
25-317 Kielce, Al. IX Wiekow Kielc 19, Poland
2
Holy Cross University in Kielce, 25-435 Kielce, Orzeszkowej 15 s, Poland
3
Wyzsza Szkola Biznesu i Przedsiebiorczosci w Ostrowcu Swietokrzyskim,
Akademicka 12 s. Poland

Grazyna Nowak-Starz1,2, Malgorzata Markowska1,2, Halina Krol1, Kazimiera

Zdzieblo1, Elżbieta Ciesla1, Dorota Rebak1, Monika Szpringer1, Dorota
Koziel1, Edyta Naszydlowska1, Bozena Zboina3, Grazyna Slowik3

The attitudes of people towards old age in Poland. Demographical and

social aspect

1. Introduction

The ageing of the world's population is an inevitable and irreversible process which
heralds an unprecedented, wide and deep system transformation in all vital areas of social
life. According to international experts’ prognoses the process of ageing will bring an
increase, in the next 10-20 years, of people aged 60 and over to 1-1.5 bil. in the world (6.2-
7.3 mil. in Poland).
The problem of old age is affecting Europe, where at the turn of the 21 st century over 60
mil., that is 20% of the 320 mil. of European Union's population is comprised of people
aged 60 and over, of which 20 mil. Is population aged over 75, that is reaching the doorstep
of venerable age. An ever lower natural growth in Europe and the USA in conjunction with
a high natural growth in Africa, Asia and Latin America leads to uncontrolled migration
movements, as well as cultural and economic transformations[1].
According to United Nations data, the demographic aging of the population - until
recently a problem of wealthy, developed countries - is beginning to also become a problem
in poor countries. At worldwide scale people aged 60 and over comprise a 20% of the whole
population. In the year 2000 there were 600 mil. people aged over 60, and in the year 2050
there will be 2 bil. ofthem. That is when, for the first time in the history of mankind, the
number of elderly people (over age 60) will equal the number of children (from birth to age
14). The World at the beginning of the new, 21st century, is aging rapidly, which is caused
on one hand by a decrease in natural growth in many countries, and on the other hand by an
increase in average lifespan - in the middle of the 20th century the average lifespan was 44
years, whereas in the middle of the 21st century it will reach 77 years. Every month on Earth
a million people reach the age of 60, of which over half (55%) is comprised of women,
whereas in the group of people aged 80 and over women comprise 65% [3]. Likewise polish
demographic prognoses indicate a process of the polish society's demographic aging
progressing from 1967 - the number of aging and elderly people will still rise and their
contribution to the population will grow. Poland's population Prognosis prepared by GUS
(2000) indicates that in the year 2020 there will be about 9.5 mil. people aged 60 and over,
which will comprise a 24%, and in the year 2030 their number will probably exceed 10 mil.
(about 27%). This requires reflection on social policies towards people of third and fourth
age [2].

Source: Calculations based on World Population Prospect, The 2002 Revision, Department
of Economics and Social Affairs, United Nations [5].

Figure 1. Poland's population number according to UN prognoses

Source: GUS: Demographic Surveys Division. Podstawowe informacje o rozwoju
demograficznym Polski do 2007 roku. Material for press conference held on 30th January
2008 [1].
Figure 2. Population age pyramid (state on 30.06.2007)

The debate of 8 wealthiest countries in the World on the 22nd of June 1997 in
Denver was a significant fact in discussions regarding a change in orientation of social
policies towards seniors, when it was acknowledged that the stereotypical perception of the
elderly as dependent, non self-reliant people should be abandoned and it was debated:

- how to promote healthy ageing, taking into consideration and establishing the seniors' due
conditions and right of choice;
- on ways to eliminate barriers for seniors' participation in the labour market, i.a. by
introducing a flexible labour time and part-time employment.

Active, positive ageing requires a favourable social and institutional environment,

the ability to create a potential for prosperous old age throughout the whole life, a capital
and family, local society as well as wider communities' adjustment to demographic changes,
especially those caused by inversion of the family pyramid - more grandparents than
grandchildren [4,6,7].
The goal of the research was to determine the social expectations towards Old Age
of people of pre-retirement age and define prognoses regarding the state's policies
considering the ageing society.

2. Material and method

The research is part of the international Leonardo da Vinci "Active old age" project
which is a joint venture of scientists, health care workers, teachers and nursing societies
from Finland, Holland, Poland and Hungary. As part of the research carried out in
Poland data from randomly selected regions from the researched sample will be
presented in this work. The research was carried out between 2010 and 2011 on a
randomly selected group of people aged 50-59. The only criterion was the age of the
person researched. 157 people were analysed in total. A questionnaire was developed so
that it corresponds the one standing as part of the international project.

3. Research results

The researched’ family and social-existence state of affairs

The greater part of the researched were people aged 54-55 (27%) and those in the
56-57 years of age scope (25%), that is the group of almost pre-retirement age. Their
attitude towards senility is therefore more personal than that of young people, who do
not think about old age. It can also be assumed that their expectations towards old age
are very precise and to the point. Amongst the whole of the researched, 48 people were
men (30.57%) and 109 women (69.43%). In regional analyses the gender criterion was
not taken into account. The place of residence of the enquired was established in the
research. A firm majority of the people live in the city, of which 45.22% are residents of
a city with population over 100 thou., 33.76% are people living in a city under 100 thou.
inhabitants, only 21.02% of the whole of the researched is comprised of rural inhabitants
(figure 3).
Figure 3. Residence place of the researched

It was sought in the research to ascertain whether the place of residence has an
influence on the level of awareness concerning old age. It turned out that a majority of
people live with their closest family. Solitary people are only a small part (20%), these
persons cannot have higher expectations towards family further and closer, who currently
(moment of examination) have left them to themselves. Neither do we know whether that
solitude is a necessity or a result of voluntary choice (figure 4).

Figure 4. The researched' manner of residence

 Amongst the whole of the researched, 91 people (57%) live in a locale that is their
property, 66 people (42.04%) stated that the locale they occupied did not belong to them. 86
people (54.78%) want to spend their retirement in their current place of residence, whereas
71 of the researched (45.22%) decided that they will not stay in the currently occupied
locale after theyretire. It can be thus guessed that the ownership of the occupied locale does
not have meaning in relation to retirement plans of the researched people.
The number of offspring the researched had was also determined in the study. It
turns out that only 12% amongst the whole do not have children, thus they cannot count in
the future on support from their closest kin. The firm majority of the researched have
children and tie their hopes for old age with them. However having offspring is not a
guarantee and maybe at old age one will be forced to live by themselves, on their own.
Figure 5 shows detailed data.

Figure 5. The number of children of the researched

The level of awareness concerning old age probably depends on the level of
education. If we assume a principle that the higher the education the higher the awareness
then we will obtain a directly proportional relationship and on this basis one can determine
an approximate level of awareness of the researched group of people concerning various
aspects of old age, the number of possessed information about this period of life as well as
the role and duties of the state regarding the elderly.
From an analysis of the data it appears that most of the researched (50%) have
secondary education, almost 27% are ones with higher education, whereas 23% of the
researched has basic education. The level of education is directly proportional to the number
of people living in the city (i.e. more often city inhabitants possess higher education).
The profession status was taken into account in the carried out inquiry. It turned out
that the firm majority are people professionally active, unemployed comprise a mere 13% of
the whole of the researched. Table 1 presents detailed data.
Table I. The researched’ occupational state of affairs
Number of taking part in the questionnaire
n %
Permanent employment 93 59,24

Running a business 19 12,10

Retired 25 15,92

Unemployed 20 12,74

Total 157 100

Expected form of aid and support in the old age phase

Health makes the basis and the condition for a comprehensive human development
and fulfills a few important functions, both from the point of view of an individual as well
as a society.
The undergone research showed that a firm majority - 99 people (63.06%) rate their
health state as good or very good. This is a number comparable to the number of people
professionally active. 48 people (30.57%) have defined their health state as not very good. It
was noticed that people who feel well and rate their health state positively are still
professionally active.
The researched were also enquired about their economic status. It turned out that
amongst the whole of the researched 40.13% consider their own economic status as not very
good and 18.47% as bad, because they have insufficient funds for living expenses. On the
other hand 41.40% of the researched stated that their economic situation is not bad, as they
can save up money and have sufficient funds for all expenses. Upon deeper analysis it
turned out however that most of the researched (59.60%) reported that they have financial
difficulties. The above situation proves that not for all of the researched work goes in pair
with economic satisfaction (amongst 61 of the researched 41% did not complain about lack
of money). There is also a significant part of retired and unemployed people among the ones
meeting financial difficulties. The researched have a diverse view on retirement. Most of the
researched hope to contact their children after they retire, as many as 41.40% would wish to
meet them every day. This may result from the fact of living together (45.86% of the whole
of the researched live with their closest family). Figure 6 presents detail data concerning the
opinion of the researched on contact with their family after going on retirement.
Figure 6. Relations with their family during retirement in the researched’ opinion
In Poland, a strong attachment to the family can be observed among elderly people.
In the opinion of the researched, care over the elderly should result from those contacts and
hope of their frequency. It turns out that 52.23% of the whole of the researched expect help
and support from their family during retirement, it is significant however that 28.66% count
on help from the state's system of social assistance, 19.11% take into consideration the work
of volunteers and the philanthropy sphere. The distribution of data is like this probably
because people who have a family and live with their family expect help from their family.
They also tie their retirement future with it, whereas people that did not have the closest
relatives at moment of research stated that they do not count on help from relatives and
friends.
In the analyzed data what brings itself to attention is the fact that in case of sickness
a significant percentage of the researched (44.59%) count on help from their family,
however up to 35.67% would turn to social help, whereas 19.11% to volunteers. Figure 7
presents detail data.
Figure 7. Expectations towards long term aid and care in the old age phase

Over half of the researched (55.41%) is counting on help and support from their
children. They most likely link their retirement with living together with their children. One
should remember that for the majority of people children are their refuge and support at old
age and it is with them that the researched identify their old age, interpreting it as "peaceful
old age". It turned out that 37% of the researched who have children do not count on their
help in the future. It is a significant percentage, considering that only 138 people amongst
the researched had children. Summarizing, 63% of the researched may expect help and
support from their closest kin. This is not satisfactory however, more so that in the polish
mentality it is the children who still constitute the help and support in old age, although - as
revealed – a significant number of people cannot count on help from their closest kin.
Figures 8-9 present detail data.

Figure 8. Expectations towards help from children in the old age phase
Figure 9. Expectations towards good care in the old age phase in the researched’ opinion

Most people believe that they will receive sufficient care after going on retirement,
unfortunately a lot less among them provide similar help and support to other elderly people
at present. Merely 39.49% of the researched admitted that they are engaged in voluntary
help, as many as 60.51% said that they had nothing and will have nothing to do with the
public work field. However 65% of the researched think that in the future they will have to
care for someone from the family, who will be older than them, at the same time being
aware that at some point in time they themselves will require help in everyday life. It is
significant that the researched know very little on the subject of the care and support for
family members, who take care of their relatives system and in a firm majority believe that
the mentioned system is inadequate. At the same time they also said that if they were to find
themselves in a situation that requires long term care, they would wish to move to a locale
fitted for taking care of such a person. It is significant that 50% amongst the whole of the
researched declared such expectations; 41.40% of the researched would like to live by
themselves and only 10.19% of the researched would expect support from the care system,
including residence in a social support home, in a nursing-care institution, hospice. As one
can see, a firm majority of the researched would prefer to stay in their environment,
preferably under the care of their family.
Statements concerning the views on care supervision over the elderly complement
the above analyses. They confirm that it is the children who should supervise such care
(table 2).

Table II. Caring for an elderly person in the researched' opinion

Number of taking the questionnaire
The care's supervision
n %
by themselves 30 19,11

partner 25 15,92
 children 46 29,30

other relatives 3 1,92

local authorities 6 3,83

neighbours 13 8,28

friends 5 3,18

grandchildren 5 3,18

private sector 5 3,18

volunteers 14 8,92

parish care 5 3,18

Total 157 100

It was inquired in the research about the qualifications that people who
professionally take care over the elderly should have. The results acquired indicate that
professional qualifications of the carer (19.75%) and time for conversation with the person
under care (18.47%) were deemed most important. The distribution of data shows (table 4)
that in the old age period the researched expect the presence of qualified carers, who are
able to assess their health state and help in getting consultations with experts, to whom they
could convey their concerns, anxieties, fears, as well as needs and expectations. As it is, the
fact that old people wish to be heard finds its confirmation. In their statements, the
researched attach importance to the carer's kind manners and his/her respect for the person
under care.

Tabela III. The researched’ expectations towards the qualifications of an elderly persons
carer

Number of taking the questionnaire

The care's supervision
n %
trade education 16 10,19

pleasant behaviour 16 10,19

experience 31 19,75

time for chatting 29 18,47

ability to consult experts 26 16,56

respect for the person in care and their opinion 26 16,56

fixed carer (the same) 13 8,28

 Total 157 100

Social expectations towards the state in its social policies planning

As mentioned earlier, demographic changes have a long term character, thus there
is a necessity for properly adapting the system of social protection so as to prepare for the
processes taking place. So that the social insurance and health protection systems could still
fulfill their functions, it is essential to take actions from the social and medical prevention
field.
The assessment of the polish help and support for the elderly system does not
translate unto the expectations regarding one's own old age. Amongst the researched 45.2%
feel that help and care over the elderly should be financed from the patients funds as well as
from public funds at the same time. A minor group claims (19.11%) that the patients
themselves should pay for such services, 35.6% of the whole of the researched count on
public funding (figure 10).

Figure 10. Sources of elderly people care funding in Poland in the researched’ opinion

In the context of remarks concerning care over the elderly, the statements of the
researched who would not decide to pay higher taxes in order to reform the situation (66%)
are puzzling. It appears thus, that almost every researched would like the services offered to
him to have ever higher quality but only every third person would be willing to pay for it.
At last the researched were asked to suggest the most important elements that
should be considered when creating a system of care over the elderly. Regarded as most
important were issues such as: diseases, variety of health services, health care availability,
system of support for the elderly. As partly important, but not most important: functional
abilities, prevention of mental diseases, participation of the elderly in social life. As wholly
unimportant: the feeling of being old.
4. Summary and conclusions

Demographic changes of the present day world require a new policy towards the
aging and elderly. Results that are a part of the international Leonardo da Vinci: "Toward
active old age" project, that is a collaboration between scientists, health service workers and
members of nursing associations in Finland, Hungary, Netherlands and Poland supported by
the European Union, were shown in the presented analyses. The goal of the project was to
investigate European trends in care over the elderly in a situation of fast numerical growth
of this population. The research covered 1200 inhabitants of union countries, aged 50-59.
The presented data concern selected Polish regions, which was discussed in detail in the
methodology section.

Based on the research carried out the following conclusions may be drawn:

1. Peoples’ expectations concerning old age are for the most part directed towards the
family. It is expected of the family, partner, children, relatives to take responsibility for care
and aid, including financial support in the old age phase.
2. The state is not sufficient provision for old age. Polish seniors trust their families most
and would most like to spend their elderly years with their families.
3. In the researched' opinion care provided by the state is inadequate. Future pensioners do
not associate their futures with support from the state.

4. The researched accept the passing of time and are aware of the health's deterioration with
ageing and the consequential dependence from various forms of care.

5. The Polish care and aid system needs to be reorganised regarding the needs of elderly
people, who do not see a dignified existence for themselves in the current state's institutional
care system.

An effective model of geriatric care should meet the following criteria: continuity,
complexity and availability. This requires strengthening of environmental care. Such
attitude will in consequence lower care costs, guarantee quality of services, increase sense of
security and improve the quality of Poland’s polpulation’ life.

Literature

1. GUS: Departament Badań Demograficznych. Podstawowe informacje o rozwoju

demograficznym Polski do 2007 roku. Materiał na konferencję prasową w dniu 30
stycznia 2008 roku.
2. Nowak-Starz G.: Rozwój i zagrożenia zdrowia populacji w wieku rozwojowym
w okresie przemian społeczno-ekonomicznych w Polsce. Wszechnica Świętokrzyska,
Kielce 2008.
3. strona internetowa ONZ – www.un.org
4. Szatur-Jaworska B.: Ludzie starzy i starość w polityce społecznej. ASPRA-JR,
Warszawa 2000.
5. World Population Prospect, The 2002 Revision, Departament of Economics and Social
Affairs, United Nations.
6. Woźniak Z.: Problemy starzenia się i starości wyzwaniem dla polityki społecznej na
progu III tysiąclecia, Ruch Prawniczy, Ekonomiczny i Socjologiczny 1999; 1.
7. Woźniak Z.: Priorytety w programach gerontologicznych organizacji
międzynarodowych i struktur europejskich jako przesłanka budowy polityki społecznej
wobec starości i osób starszych W: starzenie się populacji wyzwaniem dla polityki
społecznej. Materiały konferencyjne, Kraków 2003.
Summary

1
The Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce, Faculty of Health Sciences,
25-317 Kielce, Al. IX Wiekow Kielc 19, Poland
2
Holy Cross University in Kielce, 25-435 Kielce, Orzeszkowej 15 s, Poland
3
Wyzsza Szkola Biznesu i Przedsiebiorczosci w Ostrowcu Swietokrzyskim,
Akademicka 12 s. Poland

Grazyna Nowak-Starz1,2, Malgorzata Markowska1,2, Halina Krol1, Kazimiera

Zdzieblo1, Elżbieta Ciesla1, Dorota Rebak1, Monika Szpringer1, Dorota
Koziel1, Edyta Naszydlowska1, Bozena Zboina3, Grazyna Slowik3

The attitudes of people towards old age in Poland. Demographical and

social aspect

Introduction
The ageing of the world's population is an inevitable and irreversible process which
heralds an unprecedented, wide and deep system transformation in all vital areas of social
life. According to international experts’ prognoses the process of ageing will bring an
increase, in the next 10-20 years, of people aged 60 and over to 1-1.5 bil. in the world (6.2-
7.3 mil. in Poland).
Material and method
The research is part of the international Leonardo da Vinci "Active old age" project
which is a joint venture of scientists, health care workers, teachers and nursing societies
from Finland, Holland, Poland and Hungary. As part of the research carried out in Poland
data from randomly selected regions from the researched sample will be presented in this
work. The research was carried out between 2010 and 2011 on a randomly selected group of
people aged 50-59. The only criterion was the age of the person researched. 157 people were
analysed in total. A questionnaire was developed so that it corresponds the one standing as
part of the international project.
Summary and conclusions
Based on the research carried out the following conclusions may be drawn:
1. Peoples’ expectations concerning old age are for the most part directed towards the
family. It is expected of the family, partner, children, relatives to take responsibility for care
and aid, including financial support in the old age phase.
2. The state is not sufficient provision for old age. Polish seniors trust their families most
and would most like to spend their elderly years with their families.
3. In the researched' opinion care provided by the state is inadequate. Future pensioners do
not associate their futures with support from the state.
4. The researched accept the passing of time and are aware of the health's deterioration with
ageing and the consequential dependence from various forms of care.
5. The Polish care and aid system needs to be reorganised regarding the needs of elderly
people, who do not see a dignified existence for themselves in the current state's institutional
care system.