Population ageing in Serbia has pervading effect on many societal spheres. Paradigm of active ageing highlights the importance for older to lead healthy and productive life. The aim of this paper is to explore active ageing practices of institutionalised older citizens considering their sociodemographic characteristics and migration background. Semi-structured interview, as a qualitative research method was used to grasp perceptions and experiences of 27 older residents in nursing homes regarding adjustment in later life and daily activities. Additional valuable insight on topic was gained from institutional social workers. According to the results, the routine of daily living of the elders varies depending on individual abilities, preferences, health, marital status and migration history. The findings suggest that institutional setting does not have to represent barrier to active ageing, with implications for further research and practice.
The ageing of the population is a contemporary phenomenon, but its foundations were laid decades ago. Changing age structures and the consequent demographic ageing has only recently become the subject of theoretical (re)consideration, since the theory of demographic transition only values fertility and mortality trajectories. The emergence of ?new? demography takes into account the momentum created by the previous trends in population dynamics and explains the future rejuvenation or ageing of the population. The importance of inherited age structure can be illustrated using an approach that represents distorted cohort flows, showing that baby booms and baby busts can play a crucial role in the future ageing of the population. While in the past it was fertility that predominantly affected age structure, recent research has revealed that changes in life expectancy are becoming a more prominent factor in shaping expected population ageing trends. The general theory of population ageing would have to consider the possible compression of morbidity, dynamic equilibrium, or the expansion of morbidity, since the future course of (healthy) life expectancy is determining the scope of the old and fragile population. The status of theory in demography has long been problematic, since the ?grandiose? theory of demographic transition had to be reevaluated. Modern approaches apply more flexible theoretical frameworks to explain contemporary demographic changes and provide a conceptual background. As such, the important paradigm for the demography of ageing should be the prospective paradigm, which uses information about the longevity of the population and transposes it to population ageing research. The theory of population metabolism seems to adequately define why population ageing is important for cohorts and generation change, especially in cases where distorted cohort flows create prominent cohort oscillation. The need to create adequate policies for changing age composition morphology is highlighted in the domain of institutional adaptation, where the concept of population balance can provide the appropriate framework. Also, as life events tend to take place more often at certain points in the life cycle - for example during adulthood and entering old age - the idea of population densities should be further explored. [Project of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Grant no. 47007: Geografija Srbije]
Age waves is theoretical concept that take into account the importance of disordered cohort flows, mainly as by-product of demographic transition (fluctuating fertility and improved survival), but also external factors (especially wars). The primary age wave as a consequence of high births after the Second World War in Serbia did not remain an isolated phenomenon, but created a secondary cohort wave although the fertility indicators were declining, which is visible as the thickening of the pyramid base in 1981 due to the absolute increase in births. Cohort "tide" has influenced the shape of the pyramid to longer retain the properties of the stationary type because the baby boom generation reproduced the "echo" generation, which is a counterbalance to extreme demographic aging as the baby boom generation entered the contingent of the old population. A cohort analysis of the elderly population shows that the declining share of the elderly in a certain age group is typical for cohorts born during turbulent times, most often wars, while cohorts born afterwards form more numerous generations. A half-century characteristic of the Serbian population is an absolute increase of people older than 65, but it does not automatically mean an adequate increase in the relative share of the elderly because it depends on the number of other age groups and their cohort trajectories. The methodological tool that can valorize heterogeneity of the old population is important for societies with past oscillations in fertility and migratory movements. In this study, the usefulness of the arithmetic and geometric coefficients of aging was tested on the example of baby boom and baby bust generations and their position in the old population, revealing periods when rejuvenation or aging of the old has dominated.
One of the most important paradigms that emerged in demographic literature when it comes to mitigation of the population ageing in developed world is the concept of active ageing. At the core of this approach is the idea that elderly population is a very important and resourceful segment of a society because of their large experience in different fields that can contribute to the welfare of all. However, there are still no empirical studies of the population such as pensioners that can contribute the most. Even though elderly pensioners are economically inactive, they have a considerable spare time and nonnegligible financial assets. In order to empirically enlighten the practice of active ageing in Serbia, we conducted a survey based on the questionnaire from Special Eurobarometer Report 378 dealing with issues of active ageing in Europe. We chose as the target population (already active) participants of the Sixth Olympiad of Sport, Health and Culture for the Third Age held in Vrnjačka Banja. As a result, we got comprehensive responses to a variety of questions, which could be used as guidelines on how to achieve active aging. Additionally, collected evidences of different attitudes of the active elderly towards family, young generations, work, pension, and the like are elaborated.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.