Marketing in the Social Services Sector for Seniors in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship
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SILESIAN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGYPUBLISHING HOUSE SCIENTIFIC PAPERS OF SILESIAN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY 2019 ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT SERIESNO. 139 1 MARKETING IN THE SOCIAL SERVICES SECTOR FOR SENIORS 2 IN THE KUYAVIAN-POMERANIAN VOIVODESHIP 3 Magdalena BIERZYŃSKA-SUDOŁ 4 Faculty of Political and Administrative Sciences, Kazimierz Wielki University; [email protected], 5 ORCID: 0000-0002-7279-6103 6 Abstract: Changes in the structure of Polish society and the dynamic ageing process make 7 seniors, as consumers, one of the most important groups on the market. The article presents 8 seniors in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship as an interesting group that is increasingly 9 eager to use all the market opportunities offered to them. Their activity in many fields is an 10 excellent tool against social exclusion. The newly emerging community requires specialists 11 related to marketing, promotion and advertising not only to notice them on the market, but also 12 to adapt marketing activities to their needs, interests, possibilities and wealth. The aim of the 13 article is to present this special group that requires the development of new, not stereotypical 14 marketing activities. It can certainly be predicted that there will be a dynamic increase in the 15 number of social services offered – care, health and rehabilitation, and of goods and other 16 services dedicated to the elderly. The problem of senior policy is a huge research field for many 17 specialists related to the silver economy sector. 18 Keywords: marketing, seniors, services. 19 Introduction 20 Ageing is a natural and unavoidable process. The whole Europe is struggling with this 21 challenge and Poland also needs to prepare for it. The demographic situation in Poland is 22 becoming increasingly similar to that of other European Union countries. The number of seniors 23 will be ever higher from year to year. The current processes in Polish society cause a significant 24 increase in the needs for care and nursing services. A major growth in the number of different 25 types of inpatient care for seniors should also be expected in the nearest future. These will be 26 centres that take patients straight from hospitals to long-term care, facilities that provide 27 treatment and care for chronic patients, institutions for elderly people who are in a difficult 28 financial and family situation, and institutions that provide treatment and care for the elderly 29 who do not require specialised procedures. Demographic processes and the increasing http://dx.doi.org/10.29119/1641-3466.2019.139.4 https://www.polsl.pl/Wydzialy/ROZ/Strony/Zeszytynaukowe.aspx 50 M. Bierzyńska-Sudoł 1 percentage of older people on our continent mean that old age is becoming the subject of 2 scientific research. The effects of ageing societies and the related social issues of the elderly 3 are the subject of research in both geriatrics, psychogerontology, and social policy (Szarota, 4 2004). Currently, the majority of people over 60 in Poland no longer work professionally. 5 Sometimes it is a planned choice, but more often it is a necessity resulting from the difficult 6 situation of the elderly in the labour market. Although this situation is improving, Poland is still 7 far beyond European countries in terms of professional activity of seniors. Inactivity in working 8 life, limiting people-to-people contacts, contribute to the worsening of the psychophysical 9 condition of the elderly. It is hard not to notice that any activity, undertaken both in professional 10 and social sphere, is a great way for seniors to keep fit and to build their prestige as well as to 11 determine their role in the community, including family life. Professional or social work is often 12 the basic and the only stimulus to undertake life activity – it adds a sense of existence, and 13 motivates to leave the house. Social activity of seniors is beneficial for others. Primarily, 14 it is the opportunity to use the social capital of the elderly, their energy, years of acquired life 15 and professional knowledge. It is also a chance to transfer the values, culture, tradition and 16 history to young generations, i.e. building the social and national identity of youth. For seniors, 17 social activity is, above all, a way to maintain their independence in life, and thus it translates 18 into a smaller burden on families and social institutions to care for the elderly. However, 19 it should be emphasised that, unfortunately, the overall picture of activity of older people in 20 Poland is still not optimistic. In many areas of social life, the activity of seniors is still 21 insufficient. Although there are groups involved in the NGO’s projects or volunteering, there 22 is still a lot to be done in this regard. 23 The purpose of the article is to indicate that marketing of social services for seniors should 24 be carried out very widely and on many levels. In addition, active and healthy ageing should be 25 promoted to combat the exclusion and passivity of older people. 26 Definition of old age 27 In the literature on the subject concerning seniors’ problems, there is no universally 28 accepted definition of old age. Old age is a static concept, while the ageing of individuals and 29 communities is a dynamic phenomenon that should be considered taking into account the 30 biological, mental and social dimension of human life. Elżbieta Trafiałek claims that old age 31 "is a natural phase of life, following youth and maturity, crowning the dynamic ageing process. 32 Defined as the final third stage of life, it is identified with a decrease in the body's efficiency, 33 loss of mobility, weakening of immune forces (biological and physiological old age), limitation 34 of adaptability to any changes, and in the socio-economic context – often with pauperisation, 35 loneliness (mental old age), necessity of using help of others (economic old age) and Marketing in the social services sector… 51 1 functioning on the margins of social life (social old age)” (Trafiałek, 2006). In turn, Barbara 2 Szatur-Jaworska states that old age is "the final stage in human life beginning with the 3 conventionally determined threshold of old age. It is a dynamic and synergistic relationship 4 between biological and psychological processes and changes in the sphere of social activity of 5 the individual" (Szatur-Jaworska, 2004). Due to the complexity of the ageing process and the 6 interest of representatives of many scientific disciplines, at least six "old age types" are 7 distinguished: 8 biological (referring to the assessment of fitness and vitality of the body), 9 demographic (calendar, chronological; this is a number of years of life), 10 psychological (determined on the basis of the efficiency of intellectual functions, senses 11 and adaptability of the individual), 12 social (reflects the social situation of a person; determined, for example, on the basis of 13 whether the individual fulfils the social roles of a grandmother, grandfather, etc.), 14 economic (refers to the place of the individual in the division of labour), 15 social (legal; defined by the date when the citizen receives the right to social benefits 16 such as pensions) (Klimczuk, 2012). 17 We will also find the extension of this typology with additional terms: pre-retirement age, 18 middle age (mature), middle adulthood, average adulthood, age foreground, immobile 19 productive age, older working age (45-59 years of age). These concepts apply to people in 20 middle age (pre-old; middle age; immobile age; non-mobility age); ageing, old age, early old 21 age, "third age" (60-74 years of age); people at this age are "young-old"; old age, late old age, 22 proper old age, "fourth age" (75-89 years of age); in this age there are "old-old"; longevity (90 23 and over 90 years of age) - oldest old, lifelong (Golinowska, 1999). 24 When a person retires, his/her life can be conventionally divided into two stages: 25 1. the so-called early old age (60+) – characterised by a greater degree of activity and 26 independence, and rather no need for help in everyday life. 27 2. late old age (75+), when individuals become more and more passive because of 28 declining health, a decrease in physical and mental condition, and therefore are more or 29 less dependent on the help of others (Trafiałek, 2003). 30 The older a person is, the more complex his/her daily life becomes. This applies particularly 31 to the level and scale of expected care and support. The "functional age" is the decisive factor. 32 This is the period during which physical and emotional fitness are not directly related to the 33 actual age of the person. Currently, the need for support and care is becoming more pronounced 34 only for people aged 75-80. This is the effect of the extension of the period of activity of most 35 seniors in European countries who lead a rich social life until old age. 36 52 M. Bierzyńska-Sudoł 1 Characteristics of the social services sector for seniors in Poland 2 Although the sector of social services for seniors in Europe is developing very dynamically, 3 in Poland the beginnings of its construction are only visible. In the age of globalization, 4 the ageing of the society is a problem that raises new challenges. The problem is 5 multidimensional, as it relates to various aspects of modern life. Ageing is an objective process. 6 This process has many sources: longer life expectancy, low birth rate, and in the case of Poland 7 – it is deepened by the negative balance of foreign migration (more young people stay 8 permanently abroad than return to Poland).