In years 1999-2000 the Department conducted research Project for preventing hospitalization of elderly citizens of Lodz in the framework of a grant awarded by Lodz City Council. Ageing of the population of Lodz together with a rapid increase in the number of elderly people hospitalisations provided incentive for the research. The subject of the research was the evaluation of medical and nonmedical reasons for hospitalisations of elderly people in internal medicine wards of Lodz hospitals. The results of the research show that the most frequent reasons for these hospitalisations are: ischaemic heart disease, pneumonia, cerebral stroke, hypertension, circulatory failure respectively. The majority of these diseases are chronic and can be subjected to effective ambulatory treatment, and only in case of their exacerbation hospitalisation is necessary. Financial shortages, disability, lack of other people’s help and patient non-compliance contribute to elderly people hospitalisation.

The results obtained from this research allowed for the presentation of concrete propositions of preventive actions. Their popularisation was possible thanks to organising of a National Scientific Conference entitled “Elderly people health needs and their conditioning” for basic healthcare doctors and other professionals in the field of elderly people healthcare in the year 2000 under the auspices of Department of Family Medicine of the Medical University of Lodz and Lodz City Council. Final recapitulation of the research was published in the year 2001 in the form of a monograph by P. Kardas and E. Ratajczyk-Pakalska entitled Hospitalisations of elderly inhabitants of Lodz. Frequency, cause, prevention possibilities.