Social responsibility and welfare of elderly people

Este artículo muestra algunos de los resultados del estudio realizado entre el 2012 y 2015 en dos contextos, Colombia y España, cuyo objetivo fue conocer la realidad social de un segmento de mercado en crecimiento y la importancia de las políticas gubernamentales y sociales vigentes para la protección y calidad de vida de la población adulta mayor. Se definen las variables, estructuran y aplican tres encuestas estructuradas y un cuestionario, resaltando las residencias como punto de partida y los diferentes públicos involucrados: adultos mayores, familiares, directivos de centros residenciales y expertos en el tema, compilando información primaria y secundaria referente al hogar/residencia de la persona mayor y las políticas de bienestar en protección, responsabilidad social y centros asistenciales. La salud en la persona se deteriora con el envejecimiento, requiriendo atención especial; siendo la economía social y los centros de promoción, los llamados a tomar cartas en el asunto con mayor inclusión, teniendo en cuenta la trihélice o cuadrihélice social: academia (estudiantes y profesores), empresa social, gobierno (local y nacional) y comunidad (voluntarios). Es necesario coordinar y promover iniciativas de cooperación nacional e internacional, que creen vínculos con diferentes stakeholders, logrando satisfacer necesidades y deseos, así como la calidad y pertinencia del servicio percibido por el adulto mayor, tanto en las residencias como en el entorno externo donde residenThis article shares some results of the study*, carried out between 2012 and 2015 in two contexts, Colombia and Spain, whose objective was to understand the social reality of a growing market segment and the importance of current government and social policies for the protection and quality of life in senior citizen population. Health deteriorates generally as it advances in age, requiring special attention in the medium and long term, transposed into greater demand for services for the older person. Social economy companies are called to take action on the matter, considering, in truth, of components of the social quadrihelix, composed of: a) academia, through the approach of new professional skills, the exchange of experiences and the promotion of good practices, in addition to research and innovation for the elderly, b) the company, generating or providing appropriate services and products for this population, c) local, regional and national government through the enactment and implementation of the national policy of aging, seeking the protection and defense of the rights of the elderly, and d) the community, through volunteering and the inclusion of the person in conditions of social vulnerability. Thus, the four fronts, imply the commitment that both the citizen and the institutions have to society, in a common work under the same purpose, make visible the degree of corporate and institutional social responsibility and the implementation in benefit of appropriately intervening the situation of old age of population, coordinating and promoting national and international cooperation initiatives that create links with different stakeholders, in order to meet the needs, desires, expectations and tastes, through the quality and relevance of the service perceived by the older person, both in the residences where they live, the products they buy and consume, inside and outside the environment where they resid