Trabajo social y mediación con mayores en situación de aislamiento social y/o soledad en las actuaciones del programa europeo sobre envejecimiento activo y saludable

Abstract

The present dissertation intends to explore the significance of mediation as a social intervention technique settle in other different magnitude and significant interventions in a European specific context in the XXI century, which it constitutes the economic and political spearhead of the social interventions with elderly people who suffers from social isolation and loneliness. The current dissertation does not deal with the day-to-day mediation work developed by the social workers with the different people that resort to these professionals and their knowledge. Nonetheless, I address the potential means and theorical apparatus of mediation whereby social workers are able to implement the social intervention, which the European Union offers in order to prevent the predicted future pandemic of social isolation and/or the solitude to come in the next decades, in an effective, consolidated and continuous way. This dissertation strives to explore the limits and the scope of the mediation techniques in order to reach and improve certain European social policies. Objectives: • Scrutinize the social conflicts emerged during the day-to-day process of the social interventions with the elderly users of the Red Cross (Aragon, Spain) and how they all feel about this experience. • Report the social needs of the users of these specific projects and may hamper the achievement of an active and healthy life, since they may also affect their social isolation and/or solitude condition. • Ascertain the extension of the distinct kind of conflicts elaborating an ideal mapping of the different ideal types of elderly people and the struggling they may suffer establishing their inner relation. • Evaluate the potential mediation process as a set of practices and means focus on these particular conflict resolutions. Methodology - In order to fulfill the present research paper, it has been selected a representative sample of 100 profiles. As it has been pointed out, all the research data has been compiled through well-structured enquiries. The sampling error it is intend to be committed may not be as great as it impedes the extrapolation of figures. The sample unit consists of individuals —elderly people over 65 years of age— who have been asked for help to the Red Cross and selected exclusively for their age. Additionally, the selection was made randomly, thereby allowing a probability sample, within the temporary space framework, defined by the whole community located in Aragon (Spain), with a range of age between 65 to 100 years of age. The oldest one was 91 years old during the elaboration of this dissertation. The enquiries were designed to habitat, age and genre criteria, delivering different genre interviews among the whole community in which are located all the social interventions with elderly people who suffers from social isolation and/or solitude, within the age range previously selected. The present research work was made during the months of July and October, 2019. Conclusions -This dissertation aim has been focused to examine the opportunities and the scope of the social mediation as a social intervention mean integrated in the social interventions with elderly people suffering from social isolation and/or solitude, which are promoted and/or funded by the European Union through the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing. In the majority of cases, elderly people face social conflicts related to the lack of communication with either their inner circle, or their primary as well as the second relationship group, who has been entrusted as their social support. Thus, mediation offers certain means of conflicts resolution which may represent a vast utility tools for the social workers, the professionals who cares of elderly people either in their own homes or in social centres.