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Preliminary Finding of The research on Elderly Needs in Flanders
De Witte, N., Prof Dr D. Vert
As in all other Western regions, the group of Flemish elderly is growing rapidly. As a result of that they become more and more important for policymakers. With that fact in mind, we?ve developed a strategic methodology to question elderly people living in 12 Flemish cities and communities. For this purpose, a questionnaire was developed, including different topics such as health and care supplies, loneliness, feelings of insecurity, participation, social network, income, housing, pensioning, voluntary work, etc. The findings give support to local policymakers developing a policy plan towards elderly. At this moment, a 6744 elderly where questioned on the basis of proportional stratified samples in the participating communities. The research program is continuing and includes more then 45 Flemish cities or communities this year. Data analyses on data of the first 12 participating cities and communities shows a rather specific profile concerning elderly and elderly needs. For example we found significant differences in feelings of security between communities and large cities (p < 0,001). There were also significant differences in participation in social networks (p < 0,001). Some aspects of health also differs from one community to another (p < 0,016). On the basis of our actual analysis we suggest that policymakers need to use differentiated intervention strategies to develop local policy plans towards elderly.
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