Dr. Zofia Szweda-Lewandowska of the Warsaw School of Economics discusses the situation of the elderly and their caregivers in Poland.

Congestive heart failure (CHF) is the fi nal stage in several heart diseases. The diagnosis of CHF in older patients is a challenge. Preserved left ventricular systolic function is a characteristic type of CHF in seniors. The purpose of the study was to characterize elderly patients with CHF and to highlight specific features of the conditions in seniors. The most common etiology of HF in this group of patients is hypertension and coronary heart disease. In seniors atypical presentations of chronic heart failure is much more common than in younger patients. Malnutrition, limitations of exercise and sedentary lifestyles or comorbid diseases have an influence on asymptomatic, early stage of HF. Th ere are better outcomes of treatment in obese individuals. It is called the obesity paradox. Open communication with a patient and his/her family may improve their response to therapy. When heart failure becomes an incurable disease and aggressive treatment is ineffective, palliative care should be considered in end-of-life heart failure patients. The goal of treatment in the remaining moments of life last moments of life should be maximizing the patient’s comfort.

The authoress wishes to discuss the idea of engaging senior citizens into the maintenance and care of historical park and garden complexes. The article illustrates the possible mutual benefits of the cooperation between the caretakers of these complexes and organized groups of senior citizens, who whose participation would be based on a form of voluntary help, through a foundation, or based on monetary compensation. Such a cooperation could lead to an improvement of the condition of historical gardens, in addition to providing beneficial effects to the physical and mental he alth of older people.

The aim of this article is to draw attention to the growing phenomenon of working in retirement in the light of active and successful aging concepts. The change in attitudes towards aging, work and retirement among Poles can be seen as a kind of social process that has been ongoing since the early 1990s. Nowadays, more and more people of retirement age, anxious to remain active and independent for as long as possible, are delaying the moment of professional deactivation. The article presents the partial findings of research conducted by the author. The purpose of the qualitative study ”Attitudes towards retirement and type of reflexivity as determinants of positive aging” was to characterize the motivations for career continuation and the benefits of prolonged professional activity among people over 60. The findings—concerning participants considered professionals (n = 20) according to the International Standard Classification of Occupations ISCO-08—suggest that continuing one’s career after reaching retirement age can be considered one of the strategies for achieving successful aging.

This study analysis is aimed at examining the relationship between logical thinking, metacognitive skills, and problem-solving abilities. To accomplish the research purpose, 100 senior secondary school students were surveyed. A descriptive survey method was adopted to examine the study results. Logical thinking, problem-solving abilities, and metacognitive skills scales were used to assess students' skills. These three scales have been pretested and have good reliability and validity. The collected data was analysed using correlation and multiple regression techniques. Pearson product-moment correlation results show a significant relationship between study variables. Further, results of the comparison show that problem-solving abilities differ significantly on the basis of gender and stream of the students. Mediation analysis revealed that logical thinking fully mediates the relationship between metacognition and problem-solving abilities. In the present study, logical thinking accounts for 52.4% of the total effect. Moreover, the result of the interaction of metacognition and logical thinking skills on problem-solving abilities is significant, which leads to the conclusion that logical thinking also works as a moderator between the predictor and outcome variable.