The Actual Demand for the Elimination of Architectural Barriers among Senior Citizens in Poland

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to determine the actual demand for the elimination of architectural barriers among senior citizens in their place of residence and also in its immediate environment in Poland. The research covered a group of people in the post-productive age, living in the Lower Silesia voivodship in Poland. Different research methods were used in the study, primarily including the public opinion survey based on a questionnaire as well as statistical analyses. The cross-tabulation analysis of differences in quality characteristics was performed using Pearson’s chi-square test (χ2 test of independence) or Fisher’s exact test, when the expected number was lower than five. As a post hoc analysis, checking the nature of differences between the studied groups, the analyses were carried out using the method by Baesley and Schumacker. For all analyses, the maximum permissible error class I α = 0.05 was adopted, whereas p ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The research revealed that a much larger group of people aged 55 and older suffers from mobility limitations than the ones resulting from disability certificates, thus confirming the assumption that along with the respondents’ age, their mobility limitations intensify, resulting in the need for assistance while moving outside their houses/apartments.