Aging Studies Application and Research Center hosted a panel titled Aging World: Aging Alone Burdur. The panel attracted attention with the intense participation of many academics and students from different provinces, along with the Burdur Provincial Representation of the Turkish Retired Non-Commissioned Officers Association, the Burdur Provincial Representation of the Turkish Combat Veterans Association, the management boards and members of the All Retirees Association Burdur Branch, as well as many non-governmental organizations and local people.
The panel held at MAKÜ Conference and Exhibition Hall was moderated by our Center Director Assoc. Prof. Dr. Deniz Say Şahin. In her speech, Şahin shared information about the studies conducted by the center and shared the data they created for Burdur with the participants. In her presentation, Şahin included the following details: “The elderly population has become 8 million 451 thousand 669 people. While the proportion of the elderly population in the total population was 8.5% in 2017, it increased to 9.9% in 2022. According to TÜİK's 2023 research, Burdur is the province with the highest rate of single-person elderly households at 35.5%. In Burdur, the elderly population for those aged 65 and over exceeds 45 thousand, and 16 thousand of our elderly live alone, with the rate of elderly women living alone being twice that of men.” Şahin also shared the ‘Field Research on the Needs and Requirements of Elderly Living Alone in Burdur’ conducted by the center with the participants.
Following the opening speech, a presentation titled ‘Aging, Old Age, and Health from a Gerontological Perspective within Turkey’s Changing Population Structure’ was made by Akdeniz University Gerontology Department Head Prof. Dr. İsmail Tufan. Emphasizing “One must live to age,” Tufan underlined that aging and old age processes differ, saying, “We know what kind of aging adventure Burdur has, and what kind of Burdur we will encounter in the future from the field research conducted. The number of those aged 50 and over in Burdur is gradually increasing.”
Subsequently, Provincial Director of Social Services Mukaddes Kılınç provided information about the works of the Ministry of Family and Social Services. In her speech, Kılınç stated, “In care services for disabled and elderly individuals, with the belief that disabled and elderly individuals will be happiest and most peaceful with their families, emphasis is placed on the care service model that allows elderly and disabled individuals to receive care services without leaving their social environment, in line with the community-based care approach and ‘individual-focused’ service understanding. There are no active living centers for elderly individuals in Burdur, but our first goal is to establish this center. These centers exist in many provinces of Turkey and the feedback is positive. These centers are opened to improve the quality of life of elderly individuals and to contribute to their active participation in social life.” She also provided information about planned projects and emphasized that various social cultural activities with student communities operating within MAKÜ are included among these projects.
Burdur Provincial Health Director Dr. Musa Murat Erk, in his speech, made an informative presentation about the works carried out by the Provincial Health Directorate. In his presentation, Erk stated, “With the Elderly Friendly Hospital Implementation Project, we aimed to provide safe and quality health services, offer necessary consultancy services in healthy aging and old age processes, conduct surveys to measure the quality of the service provided, make necessary explanations before medical examinations and treatments for patients over 65, and provide verbal and visual information for illiterate patients. We also focused on directional signs by establishing a palliative care unit. We formed committees with one representative from each profession.” He shared the operation of the Elderly Friendly Hospital Project with the participants.
After the presentations, the panel concluded with the presentation of certificates of appreciation to the participants by Deputy Governor Yasin Özcan and Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Hakan Öner.
