Occupational medicine takes a certain key position at preparation for an active and healthy old age. Focal points are in this sight: --the active integration of the elder workers into the system of medical investigations of fitness --the dispensary care for elder workers --the shaping of working conditions and claims --health education and --geropsychohygiene.
It is necessary to have regard to the individuality of the older people. Old age must not be identified with illness, debility, and loss of power of performance. We have to activate all capacities of rehabilitation and learning untiringly. Between generations, between old and young, to shape a harmonious relationship, is a further aim of geropsychohygiene.
To theoretically substantiate the preparation for an active old age, as regards gerontological hygiene and social gerontology, we can refer to the four crucial points of our research results. 1. The basic mechanisms of aging are biological-genetically controlled; speed, type and forms of manifestation, however, can be essentially influenced by the environment 2. Regarding the factors of influence we must differentiate between negative and positive features to ensure the desired course of the aging process in accordance with the basic needs by controlling and regulating it 3. For working women and men of pre-pensionable and pensionable age, from the present state of the motivation structure the complex of material and ideological contents of preparatory measures can be derived relating both to the transition to pensionable age and to organizing a creative and active old age 4. Geropsychohygiene and health education rank high in the structure of all-social health protection; for they are suited to improve health, capability, and joy of living, and to help prevent losses and decompositions in the psychophysical field.
Already in early gero-hygienic studies the social influenceability of psychic health was to be discovered as conceptual conclusion. Investigations on old-age people also confirm the far-reaching dependence of psycho-physical health of old age on social factors of influence. Favourable living conditions result in satisfaction, whereas hospitalization, segregation and qualifications deficiencies promote psychic disorders. Longitudinal section studies likewise revealed the effects of the socio-economic psychic disorders. Longitudinal section studies likewise revealed the effects of the socio-economic status on activity and educational ambitions. Analogous results are shown by recent gerohygienic research work. Destitution and infirmity in old-age correlate strongly with a low socio-economic status. Social activities and creative spare-time activities are to be found more frequently with residents of homes. Physical and psychic stresses of medium level at work have a more favourable effect on the degree of needing care at old age than overstrain or understrain. Low qualification also reduces the desire to continue work after having reached the retirement age limit. Consequences from the knowledge gained must be utilized for an aimed preparation of working pre-pensioners with poor qualification for an active old age. Scientific labour organisation at the factory also for the elder worker as well as strengthening the integration of the ageing citizen in the socialist society are additional means for maintaining the psychic health up to highest age.
On the basis of common experiences in the research cooperation in the gero-hygienic and social-gerontological fields the authors depict the sociological aspects of preparing for retirement and the spare time behaviour of old-age pensioners. The short-term preparation for retirement in the pre-retirement age of pensioners should be dealt with preferably by industrial medicine. Preparatory steps on reaching the retirement age must pass over into the territorial level. The transition to retirement age and spare-time behaviour are creative social processes in sociological respect. The sociopolitical and health measures in the USSR and in the GDR take this knowledge fully into account.
On the basis of the idea about the general necessity of being prepared to the seniorship, and the fundamental possibilities existing in the socialist society and considering the national and international experiences a programme for the preparation to an active seniorship has been developed. The programme has been tested for its efficiency in a rural, suburban and in a large-city industrial plants. The echo and the participation in preparation courses, the attitude and changes in attitude of the test persons asked towards a healthy life, getting older and seniorship, towards occupation during seniorship have been tested with help of mathematic-statistical methods before and after the programme. From these results conclusions have been drawn for internal and social practice for the preparation to an active seniorship.
Psychohygiene and sanitary education must help to be incorporated in the complex attendance to elder people as immanent ingredients. A healthy style of living involves salubrious behaviour and facilitates the health promoting shaping of living conditions. The psychic health and the psychic efficiency are accessible to a sphere of influence in the same way as the physical efficiency assumptions. Psychic training covers both thinking, speaking and deciding as well as adaptation, change-over and creative activity. Psychic health in old age is principally possible and can be supported by psychohygienic measures.
Gerohygiene as standard branch of socialist gerontology is faced with the short, medium and long-term preparation for an active old age. The foundations for a healthy ageing and a positive attitude towards old age must be laid as early as in childhood and youth. Investigations on juveniles indicate the ideological barriers that have to be overcome yet. Wrong attitudes of young people about old age might be overcome by means of improved contacts between young and old as well as by extending the competence of the respective role of generation. Theses for a further approach to the subject presented demand for the aspects of aid and care not to be overemphasized but to stimulate an activity-promoting behaviour up to the high age by understanding and loving affection on both sides. The development of self-confidence and personality of young and old people is promoted substantially by mutual fruitful relations.
International findings and our own results in gerohygienic sociogerontological, geriatric, medical epidemiological and psychogerontological research have positively confirmed the need for preparing for old age. Demographic data in the GDR has brought to light the growing need to put the preparation for an active old age into practive making use of research data and of the existing resources. The means of implementing the programme life in the overall resources of our developed socialist society, in our laws, in our well-organized public health system and above all in the industrial health protection service. It is shown that the society's potentials and the industrial health protection service, which operates on a country-wide scale, can have a positive influence on ageing and on life of old people. The ways in which this can be achieved are described. These ways are based on the main medical, psychological and social aspects of preparing for old age. The existing limits must be taken into account when translating the schemes of preparation for old age into practice of socialist health protection. It is indispensable to concentrate on problems of focal importance. The preparation must first benefit factory workers exposed to health hazards. Medical preparation should come first, followed by psychological and social preparation. In the long term, preparation for old age must be integrated into the overall process of education and it must start at school, where it should be integrated into biology and civicx classes. Such a process corresponds to the life-long process of ageing, to socialist principles and to the efforts of the public health system to preserve health, working capacity and joy of living up to a ripe old age.
Looking back on the beginning of the efforts for preparing of working pensioners for activity and creative life in the pensionary there is demonstrated the present state of the request of research for social preparing on age in the socialism. Our new labour law and some results of research of gerohygienic studies show which way for preparing on an active age is further to go.
