Quality of Ageing – Some Characteristics of the Elderly Population of Istria and the Comparison with Other Regions of Croatia

Cilj rada bio je ispitati demografske osobitosti starijeg stanovništva Istre, njihovo obiteljsko i zdravstveno stanje, zadovoljstvo životom, potrebe i dostupnost različitih usluga skrbi, te usporediti s obilježjima starijeg stanovništva Zagreba, Dalmacije i Slavonije. Ispitane su 1262 starije osobe, prosječne dobi 74 godine (60-100), strukturiranim intervjuom. U Istri ima više bolje obrazovanih ljudi, najmanje starijih ljudi u braku, te imaju manje djece i živih braće i sestara nego u Dalmaciji i Slavoniji. U Istri najviše starijih ljudi živi samo. Usporedbom starijih osoba iz četiri područja utvrđeno je da ih najbolje razlikuju dostupnost usluga skrbi i socijalna podrška. Utvrđene razlike među područjima ukazuju na potrebu da se programi skrbi za starije ljude organiziraju na lokalnoj razini vodeći računa o različitostima starijih ljudi u pojedinim lokalnim zajednicama.The purpose of this paper was to analyse demographic characteristics of the elderly population of Istria, their family and health status, satisfaction with life, needs and access to different social welfare services, and to compare them with the characteristics of the elderly population of Zagreb, Dalmatia and Slavonia. The structured interview included 1262 elderly respondents, their average age being 74 (60-100). Istria is characterised by more elderly people with a higher level of education, the least number of married elderly people, who also have less children and living siblings than elderly people in Dalmatia and Slavonia. There are most elderly people who live alone in Istria. By comparing elderly persons from four regions, it has been determined that they most significantly differ in the access to social welfare services and in social support. The determined differences point to the need to organise programs of the care for the elderly on local level, taking into consideration the different characteristics of elderly persons in individual local communities