GERIATRIC CARE RESOURCES IN AN AGING SOCIETY OF RURAL AND URBAN AREAS IN POLAND – MAPPING OF CURRENT SITUATION

GUS demographic forecasts show that by 2035 subpopulation of people with 65 years or more in Poland will grow by 62% compared to 2010. While the subpopulation of people with 80 years or more will increase as much as 96% over the same period. The aim of this article is a diagnosis of selected geriatric care resources in a situation of aging population of rural and urban areas in Poland. To achieve this aim, the study includes demographic forecasting for Poland until 2035 with differentiation on voivodeships and rural and urban areas. Additionally, an analysis of selected geriatric care resources (geriatric beds and specialists in geriatrics) in the context of an aging population was considered. The obtained results conclude that in Poland there is lack of geriatric care resources such as geriatric beds and specialists in geriatrics. Although the projected percentage of people aged 65+ in rural areas will be lower in 2035 than in the urban areas, the access to these resources in rural areas is more limited, due to the concentration of geriatric care resources mainly in big cities