Killing Circumstances of Inequality: Some Concerns about Elder People in Poland during the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Institution: University of Zielona Góra
- ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2960-8258
- Institution: Pedagogical University of Kraków
- ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5819-1557
- Year of publication: 2021
- Source: Show
- Pages: 40-49
- DOI Address: https://doi.org/10.15804/kie.2021.02.03
- PDF: kie/132/kie13203.pdf
According to official statistics, older people are particularly vulnerable to severe illness. Especially those who suffer from frail health are more likely to have deadly coronavirus infection than other age groups. For sure, age and preexisting medical conditions are significant indicators of vulnerability risk to severe infection, but old age interact with many other factors that may render the elderly at risk. The important implication is that the options available to older people are contingent upon inequalities. Some of them will eventually face common difficulties later in life, while others will face the same problems but do it alone with few resources. In other words, aging itself is a stratified process. Disease impacts are not random, nor are the burdens of disease carried equally by all members of affected populations. The consequences of the disease most often heavily affect those who are in a socially vulnerable position.
REFERENCES:
- Abramson, C.M. (2015). The End Game: How Inequality Shapes Our Final Years. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
- Djundeva, M., Dykstra, P.A., & Fokkema, T. (2019). Is Living Alone “Aging Alone”? Solitary Living, Network Types, and Well-Being. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 74(8), 1406–1415. DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gby119.
- Douglas, M. (1994). Risk and Blame: Essays in Cultural Theory. London: Routledge.
- Fabiś, A., Wąsiński, A., & Tomczyk, Ł. (2017). Existential Perspective of Biography-related Reflection in the Intergenerational Narrative Messages. Journal of Family History, 42(3), 326–340. DOI: 10.1177/0363199017711213.
- Habrat B. (2011). Problemy związane z piciem alkoholu przez osoby starsze. Postępy Nauk Medycznych, 8(24), 701–704.
- Halicki, J. (2010). Obrazy starości: rysowane przeżyciami seniorów. Białystok: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu w Białymstoku.
- Hasell, J., Mathieu, E., Beltekian, D., MacDonald, B., Giattino, C., Ortiz-Ospina, E., Ritchie, H., Roser, M., Dattani, S., Appel, C., & Rodés-Guirao, L. (June 7, 2020). Statistics and Research. Coronavirus (COVID-19) Testing. Our World in Data. Retrieved March 25, 2021 from: https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus-testing.
- Ige, J., Gibbons, L., Bray, I., & Gray, S. (2019). Methods of Identifying and Recruiting Older People at Risk of Social Isolation and Loneliness: A Mixed Methods Review. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 19, 181. DOI: 10.1186/s12874-019-0825-6.
- Klinenberg, E. (2002). Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
- Lupton, D. (1999). Risk. London: Routledge.
- Machielse, A. (2015). The Heterogeneity of Socially Isolated Older Adults: A Social Isolation Typology. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 58(4), 338–356. DOI: 10.1080/01634372.2015.1007258.
- Mauss, M. (2000). The Gift: Forms and Functions of Exchange in Archaic Societies. New York: W.W. Norton.
- Okólski, M. (2018). Wyzwania starzejącego się społeczeństwa. Polska dziś i jutro. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego.
- Sowa, A. (2020, April 16). Domy Pomocy Społecznej bez pomocy. Polityka. Retrieved March 25, 2021 from: https://www.polityka.pl/tygodnikpolityka/spoleczenstwo/1952486,1,domy-pomocy-spolecznej-bez-pomocy.read.
- Statistics Poland (2012). Jak się żyje osobom starszym w Polsce? Główny Urząd Statystyczny. Retrieved March 25, 2021 from: https://stat.gov.pl/cps/rde/xbcr/gus/WA_jak_sie_zyje_os_starszym_w_pl_30_XI_2012.pdf.
- Statistics Poland (2020). Sytuacja osób starszych w Polsce w 2018 r. Główny Urząd Statystyczny. Retrieved March 25, 2021 from: https://stat.gov.pl/obszary-tematyczne/osoby-starsze/osoby-starsze/sytuacja-osob-starszych-w-polsce-w-2018-roku,2,1.html.
- Sunstein, C.R. (2007). Worst-Case Scenarios. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
- Szukalski, P. (2012). Solidarność pokoleń. Dylematy relacji międzypokoleniowych. Łódź: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego.
- Tierney, K. (2019). Disasters: A Sociological Approach. Cambridge: Polity Press.
- Tobiasz-Adamczyk, B., & Zawisza, K. (2015). Regional Differences and Determinants of Social Capital in Polish Elders. Studia Socjologiczne, 2, 119–141.
- Turek, K., Perek-Białas, J., & Stypińska, J. (2015). Socioeconomic Status in Ageing Poland: A Question of Cumulative Advantages and Disadvantages. In: K. Komp, & S. Johansson (Eds.), Population Ageing from a Lifecourse Perspective: Critical and International Approaches (pp. 85–106). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI: 10.2307/j.ctt1t89106.11.