วิถีการดูแลสุขภาพผู้สูงอายุในชุมชน: ความหมายและการจัดการ Way of Elderly Health Care in Community: Meaning and Care Management

Abstract

This ethnographic research was aimed to explore the ways of elderly health care in the community. The study was conducted at one subdistrict in the Northeastern region, Thailand. Data were collected from 52 elderly people and those involved in the elderly care within the community via observations between April to October, 2017, in-depth interviews and discussion groups. The reliability of the data was conducted using triangulation and data were analyzed using content analysis.

The study displayed that the majority of the elderly considered health care as a responsibility to take care of themselves as oppose to depend on others. Sociocultural conditions described the current health status as healthy, deterioration due to age, or with illness, still able to provide self-care, where all three groups try their best to look after themselves, with phrases of "I can look after myself" and "afraid I will be a burden or troublesome" presented. Similarly, in the group that requires assistance, caregiving was based on the context of the caregiver. The elderly perceived the management as "whatever" and "depend on them", which follows the four social paths of the elderly in the community, namely, live with their grandchildren, live with their relatives, live with a couple and live alone. This reflects the care management of the elderly in three levels, namely, the elderly with self-care, the elderly with care from the family and the elderly with care from community, where conditions to care management in the elderly in relevant areas was in relation to the lifestyle of the elderly in the community. Nonetheless, it was found that good health of the elderly depends on the relationship between the household members and the community. They play a role in providing empathy and care for the elderly, to create "warmth heart", both in sickness and in health.