Abstract |
The increase of the elderly population that has been observed during the past
few years in our country as well as throughout Europe, constitutes an undeniable
fact. The consequences of demographic ageing, demographic and social - economic
changes, changes in the structure of family, in the size of households, in the
shrinkage of Welfare state, influenced the lifestyle of the elderly and their social
relations. The institution of KAPI (Open Care Centres for the Elderly) was created in
the context of these conditions.
The aim of the present research is the investigation of the level of
participation of elderly people in the activities of KAPI and the reasons, why some
elderly do not participate in those activities. To conduct this research, we selected a
KAPI from the Municipality of Heraklion and a sample of 110 members with simple
random sampling, out of which, 53 women and 30 men finally participated, a
percentage of 75.5% of the initial sample. The questionnaire used to conduct the
research was developed by the researcher, while the GDSS (Geriatric Depression
Screening Scale) was used for the measurement of depression.
The results of this research showed that the elderly do not participate in all
activities of KAPI with the same frequency. The attendance during festivities and the
visits to the lounge of KAPI was greater than the attendance in groups activities and
utilization of medical and social services. There was no correlation found with
statistical significance between attendance and demographics, social – economic
factors, health situation and depression, with the exception of attendance in multi
day excursions, where younger age is associated with attendance. The main reasons
that influence attendance were, health, being busy at time of activities and
psychological reasons, without any significant differences between the different
types of activities.
The KAPI is considered to be α successful institution for the protection of the
Elderly, combining the benefit of services of prevention, promotion and education of
health, with the benefit of recreational activities. However, it is crucial to carry out
evaluation of the services they are offering, so as to enlarge and extend their
programs, adapt them to the true needs of the elderly and to adopt strategies to make
registered members more active and attract new ones. This will help the KAPI to
serve a larger number of Elderly people.
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