The Survey of Health Behavior of Elderly Who Living with Chronic Illness in Bangklorlem Subdistrict, Bangkok Metropolitan

Abstract

          This survey descriptive research was to study the health behaviors of the elderly who living with chronic illness that composed of exercise , eating behavior, behavior during illness, stress management and to compare the health behaviors of the elderly people  with personal information - gender, age, education, marital status, income. The sample was the 200 elderly people who living with chronic illness in Bangklolerm, Bangkok by using simple random Sampling. The tool in collecting data was questionnaire. The data was analyzed by using frequency, percentage, average, standard deviation. The differences between groups were compared with T-test and one-way ANOVA.

          The result found that the elderly people who living with chronic illness in Bangklorlerm had good level in the    psychological and relationship behavior (x̄= 8.50, 8.24). For the health behavior, stress management, and nutrition had goodlevel (x̄= 8.04, 7.77, 7.28) .The highest score in health behavior was positive thinking of the elderly (x̄_max= 8.83),the lowest score was milk drinking of the elderly (x̄_min= 5.69). For the average knowledge level of the elderly was 44.4%. The good knowledge level was 13.2 %. When comparing the study between male and female with age, education, and religious respect were significant differently. For male and female with chronic illness in the study of marital status, and incomewere not difference. In the study of education and health behavior found that education level had health behavior and nutrition difference, stress management relationship in the family as well with the significant difference.  Thus participation of local administrator or health center should have program in knowledge, exercise, nutrition,stress  management and caring in illness for elderly in community to decrease deteriorate health and to increase quality of life in environ mental community.