Top needs of elderly people in Romania, after five years of the Elderly Helpline social program
- The need for information remains the primary reason why seniors call the Elderly Helpline.
- Over 2,700 people have requested support through the Elderly Helpline in 2020, double compared to the previous year.
Bucharest, November 4, 2020 – The Margareta of Romania Royal Foundation is launching the Top Needs of Elderly People in Romania and explains the solutions offered to them. The top was created by processing data collected by the Elderly Helpline, which, in over five years of operation, has recorded more than 51,000 interactions with seniors nationwide, nearly 9,500 of whom were unique callers.
The Elderly Helpline is a free help line that provides solutions to the needs addressed by seniors in Romania (information, counseling, practical or emotional support). This social project was launched in 2015 as a response to the aging population issue and has benefited from total funding of 837,500 RON from the Vodafone Romania Foundation.
According to the INSSE Report of January 1, 2020*, 3.7 million people in Romania are over the age of 65, representing 19% of the country's resident population. Furthermore, the pace of population aging places our country 2nd among European countries. In this context, the Elderly Helpline social service responds to the needs faced by seniors in Romania and is the only free and confidential telephone line dedicated to them, accessible nationwide. Seniors receive specific, practical, and updated information regarding the services or solutions available for the situations addressed. Calls can be made to 0800 460 001, Monday to Friday between 08:00 – 20:00 and Saturdays between 08:00 – 16:00.
Of the 9,500 unique callers who dialed the Elderly Helpline during the 2015-2020 period, 44% live in Bucharest, 31% in rural areas and small towns, and 27% belong to the 70-80 age group. The top needs declared by seniors in Romania include five major categories: 1. useful information; 2. care and practical support; 3. material and financial support; 4. emotional support; 5. the need to be active and for social participation. Following the analysis of the data collected over the five years, it appears that the dynamics of the problems and life situations faced by seniors have not shown significant changes. This is largely due to an acute lack of development in public or private social services destined for the elderly.
The main reason seniors call the telephone line is the need for useful information, caused by both the social phenomena of isolation, marginalization, and discrimination against the elderly, as well as their inability to adapt to new communication technologies. Following the analysis, it was found that the number of people requesting various types of information is higher in Bucharest (1,786) and Transylvania (626), with the lowest number recorded in Dobrogea (142).
Regarding the need for care and practical support, this is expressed through specific requests related to medical information and assistance, specialized supervision, references for senior homes, and institutionalization procedures. A percentage of 48% of those who expressed these needs are between 70 and 90 years old.
The need for emotional support is determined by the loneliness and social isolation that many seniors feel, even if some of them do not live alone. 45% of the callers live alone, 22% live with a partner, 6% with children or grandchildren, and 1% stated they are in a senior home. As a response to the problem of loneliness, the Elderly Helpline offers its own weekly call-back services or redirection to partner organizations. In the context of the pandemic, the team of specialists at the Elderly Helpline offers psychological counseling and emotional support to elderly people facing states of anxiety or depression, which are accentuated during isolation.
According to INSSE*, the poverty rate among the elderly has recorded an increase of 4.3% in the last three years. The situation is even more complicated in the context of the pandemic. From March to the present, 707 requests for financial and material support were recorded, most in Bucharest and the Muntenia region. Seniors were directed toward community social assistance services operated by DGASs or NGOs to receive various types of aid. For seniors who express the need to be active and for social participation, the Elderly Helpline proposes community volunteering actions and participation in activities organized in senior clubs. Fortunately, there are also programs that, during the pandemic, adapted their activities to the online environment, such as the Generations Community Center, the Bucharest Municipality Senior Center, and the Never Alone Association.
During the state of emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the social service recorded a daily number of interactions double that of the previous period—over 3,000 calls and 900 unique callers. In the context of the pandemic, requests for material and financial support intensified, placing this need ahead of the one for emotional support. However, once the state of emergency was lifted, the problems of the elderly returned to their previous form.
The Elderly Helpline was awarded for originality in 2016 and named the best Social Assistance Services project in Romania at the Civil Society Gala in 2019.
Partner: Fundația Vodafone România
Sponsors: Hochland România, Johnson Wax, Societatea Națională Nuclearelectrica, Hartmann, City Grill, CEZ România.
*INSSE Report of January 1, 2020
