Survey on Living Conditions of People 55 and over in the Basque Country 2020

The carrying out of a specific survey on the living conditions of people aged 55 and over in the Basque Country allows the Basque Government to continue with successive previous studies on the reality of older people in this Autonomous Community. The previous studies on living conditions have favoured the elaboration of plans, proposals and strategies adjusted to the particularities of the ageing process in the territory. 

The first of these studies was carried out in 1993 on the initiative of the Basque Government (Survey on the Elderly), for the preparation of its Gerontological Plan, which was disseminated in 1994. The second study was drawn up in 2010 (Survey of Living Conditions of the Elderly in the Basque Autonomous Community) at the request of the General Meetings and served as the basis for the document "One hundred proposals for advancing the well-being and good treatment of elderly persons. Basis for an Action Plan" of 2011. The last study of these characteristics was carried out in 2014 (Survey of Living Conditions of People aged 55 and over in the Basque Country) as a basis for the launch of the "Basque Active Ageing Strategy 2015-2020" which also included the calculation of the Active Ageing Index (AAI). 

In 2020, the Basque Government, with the collaboration of Matia Instituto, intends to carry out a new "Survey of Living Conditions of people aged 55 and over in the Basque Country", with the aim of providing planners and those responsible for social policies with detailed and specific information on the conditions of family, individual and environmental life in which the population aged 55 and over in the Basque Country lives. The survey also aims to collect information, systematise and disseminate the reality of older people in the Basque Country, addressing a wide range of aspects that concern this population group. In this sense, a battery of questions has been included to find out the incidence of the Covid-19 crisis on the daily life of people aged 55 and over in the Basque Country.

Objectives

The instrument used in the different studies has evolved over time, responding to the changing reality of Basque society. The objectives of the survey for this year are specified in:

• To offer an updated picture of multiple aspects that are part of the daily life of older people (material conditions, state of health, level of education, free time, participation, social relations, environment). Including the impact of the covid-19 crisis on these aspects of daily life.
• Addressing a comparative analysis of trends and developments since 1993.
• To identify the needs of the elderly in the Basque Country.
• To know the degree of friendliness of the Basque Country and to analyse the variables that affect this perception in order to advance in its improvement.
• To carry out a new calculation of the AAI that will serve to obtain evidence to monitor and compare results on active ageing obtained in 2014 and to compare the situation of the Basque Country with other territories and countries.

The information was collected during June and July by means of telephone interviews with almost 3,000 people aged 55 and over throughout the Basque Country.