Olena Strelnyk on the challenges of organising family care for older people: a column in “Ukrainska Pravda. Zhyttia”

The ageing of the population is the most pronounced demographic trend in developed societies. As of 1 January 2022 the share of people aged 60 and over in Ukraine was 24.8%. During the war it was mainly young and middle-aged people who went abroad, so the share of older people in Ukraine has probably grown, and supporting this group is becoming an ever greater challenge for many Ukrainian families, communities and for society as a whole.

The whole range of daily care for family members who need it — children, older people, people with disabilities — is called unpaid care work. While the subject of motherhood and childcare, for instance, has gradually become more widely discussed in recent years, especially in the context of the demographic crisis and the search for ways to overcome it, the situation of older people, the care they receive and the needs of those who care for them remain an invisible and unpopular theme. People who face the challenges of daily care for elderly loved ones often feel alone and do not find sufficient support from those close to them, from employers, from the state or from society.

We offer you a column by Olena Strelnyk, Doctor of Sociological Sciences, Senior Research Fellow of the Department of Social Structures, in “Ukrainska Pravda. Zhyttia”. The publication sets out the results of a representative survey conducted using the author's own instrument on the challenges of organising family care for older people.

The full text of the interview: https://life.pravda.com.ua/columns/nevidima-turbota-shcho-kazhut-sociologichni-dani-pro-simeyniy-doglyad-za-litnimi-lyudmi-v-ukrajini-306635/