Abstract
The purpose of the study was to identify the different types of social support networks (SSNs) among community-dwelling people aged 75+ years in selected areas of Poland, and to evaluate any associations between the network type and demographic and health variables of the population studied. The two most prevalent SSN types identified using the Practitioner Assessment of Network Type were “family dependent” (35.8%) and “locally integrated” (32.2%). “Local self-contained” (6.4%), “wider community focused” (2.8%) and “private restricted” (5.6%) SSNs were observed less frequently. In 17.2% of cases, it was not possible to identify the type of network unequivocally. Older people with a locally integrated SSN, in contrast to the family dependent type, were generally younger, living alone, and less likely to be homebound, rate their health as poor, suffer from depression or dementia, and had lower levels of functional disability. Locally integrated SSNs are recognized in the literature as being the most robust in terms of facilitating well-being and providing sufficient support to help maintain the older person in the community. This may reflect the higher levels of independence of older people able to sustain these support networks, which are then transformed into family-dependent types as their health deteriorates, but confirmation of this would require prospective studies. An improved understanding of the prevalence of different types of social networks among older people in Poland would help to guide a systematic approach to recognizing unmet needs in this population and provide crucial information in the planning of formal services.
Highlights
Gerontologists have long been interested in the role of social networks in providing support for older adults, with a view to gaining a better understanding of the impact on Responsible editor: Marja J
A high percentage of respondents rated their health status as poor, reported visual and hearing impairments, were classified as cognitively impaired or depressed, the median score of their functional disability index” (FDI) was in the moderate range
The two most frequently observed social support networks (SSNs) types in people of advanced old age in the areas studied in Poland were family-dependent and locally integrated ones
Summary
Gerontologists have long been interested in the role of social networks in providing support for older adults, with a view to gaining a better understanding of the impact on Responsible editor: Marja J. Older people’s capacity to cope with life and its problems is related to the structure and content of their social support networks (SSNs) (Wenger and Tucker 2002), whose strength is recognized by policy-makers as important for predicting community care outcomes (Faber Ashley and Wasserman 2002). In. European Journal of Ageing (2021) 18:345–355 view of the projected increase in the number and proportion of older people in Poland (Central Statistical Office 2014), this has important implications for both the family and society as whole, with respect to the capacity for providing long-term care. The instruments share common features, such as frequency of contact with or proximity to children, but differ according to focus, some measuring social isolation and levels of perceived social support from family and friends, others attempting to categorize these relationships and relating specific categories to outcomes in terms of health, functioning and psychological well-being
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