“Linz’s senior citizens are fit and digital” – this is how a survey of 70 to 79 year olds from Linz can be summed up. “Simplified, of course,” adds Renate Kränzl-Nagl. The project manager from the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria presented the results yesterday together with Karin Hörzing, Vice Mayor of the City of Linz (SP), and Robert Ritter-Kalisch, Managing Director of the Linz Senior Citizens’ Centers.
Encouraging response
The aim was to find out what the people affected were missing, at what age they went to a retirement home and how much they used alternative services – day centres and community nurses as well as mobile care and meals on wheels. The survey was therefore specifically conducted in the Kleinmünchen-Auwiesen and Dornach-Auhof districts because there is both a day centre and a senior centre there. 2,477 questionnaires were distributed to residents in the two regions who are between 69 and 80 years old. The response rate was very encouraging at 25 percent, says Hörzing.
Living in a community: For example, it was found that only 35 percent of this age group live in single households, while all the others live in two-person households. This can be explained by the fact that men are getting older, says Kränzl-Nagl. This also means that “loneliness” is an issue, but not a major one among those surveyed. For 50 percent of those surveyed, it is by no means possible to be cared for by the family if the worst comes to the worst. Those who move into a retirement home are getting older and older – but the duration is shorter than before.
Opening hours: Many respondents stated that they would like to see the opening hours of the day centres extended to Saturdays – a nine-month test phase is currently being evaluated.
Wishes: The inclusion of young people in day centres is one of the major concerns of seniors, as is accessibility, sporting activities, contact with animals and excursions.
Satisfaction: 90 percent see Linz as rather senior-friendly.
For Hörzing, this inquiry into needs is important, after all, a quarter of the city’s 212,000 residents are over 60 years old, and 30,000 are over 70 years old. The aim is to enable them to remain independent for as long as possible – “mobile rather than stationary help”. Day centers are an important building block. There are three city-run and two private day centers in Linz. If that is no longer possible, there is usually spontaneous space in one of the ten municipal and seven private senior centers with 1,900 beds.
“}”>
Image: City of Linz
Source: Nachrichten
