[Health promotion in medium-sized and large enterprises in Poland, in the context of population ageing. The specificity of workplaces with a different size of employment and financial situation].

Background: Demographic projections indicate an inevitable intensification of the population ageing process. This situation causes significant challenges for employers due to the shrinking and ageing of the workforce. Workplace health promotion, adjusted to the needs and expectations of employees in different age groups, is one of the tools of preventing and minimizing the consequences of this demographic process. In Poland there is a lack of research showing employers' attitudes towards the demographic crisis, health promotion as a way of coping with the implications of ageing or the implementation of health promotion tailored to the specificity of younger and older employees. In addition, there is hardly any information on whether these issues are differentiated by the size and financial situation of enterprises. Therefore, the paper is aimed at filling in these knowledge gaps.

Material And Methods: A national representative study of 1000 companies employing ≥50 people was conducted (October-November 2017), in a form of standardized computer-assisted personal interviews.

Results: There is a low awareness of the discussed demographic process (8% of the enterprises surveyed declare experiencing its consequences). Most organizations do not prepare themselves for facing the future challenges of ageing (only one-fifth discuss this topic during management meetings), nor do they respond to the first symptoms of this process (only one-fourth react to the observed consequences of demographic changes, and every second organization tends to finish its cooperation with employees once they attain the retirement age). Although half of the respondents believe in the effectiveness of health promotion in coping with the consequences of the ageing process, in reality the capability of these activities is not harnessed (few companies are interested in the diverse health needs and expectations of employees in different age groups, and in adjusting health promotion activities to these needs and expectations). The size and financial situation do not differentiate many issues analyzed in the study.

Conclusions: It is necessary to make employers aware of the inevitability of population ageing and its implications for enterprises, shaping their skills in effective preventive/remedial actions (including health promotion) and supporting them in such implementations. Med Pr. 2020;71(1):17-31.