THE CONCEPT OF ACTIVE AGING AS THE BASIS OF SOCIAL POLICY AND SOCIAL WORK WITH ELDERLY PEOPLE IN THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND

Abstract

Population aging is a global problem of our time. The achievements of modern medicine have made it possible to significantly increase human life expectancy. In most developed countries of the world, there has been a rapid increase of the share of elderly people. The decline in the birth rate is also contributed to this. Demographers predict that this trend will continue in the future, the reform the governments of European countries, for which this problem is particularly relevant, already need to respond to these changes today, forming a set of measures that will allow active cooperation with the elderly in the future, using their potential as a powerful resource for the country's future development. The Government of the Republic of Poland, realizing the inevitability of demographic changes, pays considerable attention to seniors («seniors» are people over the age of 60 years), as evidenced by relevant government programs aimed at implementation of the concept of active aging and social inclusion of the elderly. Since the problem of population aging is relevant for Ukraine, there is no doubt about the importance and necessity of studying the experience of other countries, in particular Poland, regarding various aspects of social policy and social work with the elderly. However, the analysis of the latest research and publications showed that the experience of the Republic of Poland was not sufficiently covered in the works of Ukrainian researchers. The article summarizes the experience of the Republic of Poland in implementing the government’s social policy towards elderly, the following government programs were analyzed: «ASOS 2012-2013», «ASOS 2014-2020» and «Aktywni+», «Senior+», which were implemented in the country in the period from 2012 to 2022, it is determined that the priority areas of work with the specified population category are educational activities and active leisure, while volunteering, social participation, self-organization and self-help are not yet widespread enough. The positive value of the "Senior+" program aimed at creating the infrastructure necessary for the permanent and regular activity of older people, especially in rural areas, was noted.