Ergonomics in the View of Elderly People (Ergonomia wobec osób w starszym wieku)

Elderly people have for a long time been a subject matter of ergonomics as an applied science whose objective is to adjust the working environment in a broad sense to human being’s psychophysiological properties and abilities. Within the framework of ergonomic measures, there are sought new technical, technological, and organisational solutions facilitating retention of the functional efficacy of elderly people in the working environment but also in their non-professional activity as, in compliance with the definition applied in the Statutes of the International Ergonomics Association: “ergonomics defines the relationships occurring between the human being and his job, equipment and the environment in the broadest sense, including also situations related to work, amusement, recreation, and travel”. Transformations in the age structure of the contemporary societies, the growth of the share of elderly people in the total number of working people, transformations in the model of non-professional activity of elderly people are the phenomena, which stimulate researches and their application in designing and implementation of technical, organisational, and social innovations addressed to the needs of elderly people under conditions of professional work as well as in non-professional activity. An aim of considerations is to present a specific approach of the contemporary ergonomics to elderly people, what, inter alia, is presented in the context of its essence, notion, and material scope as well as against the background of its development analysis. The article is of the conceptual nature