Factors Related to Death Preparation among Thai Buddhist Elderly

Abstract

This study was based on a descriptive research design aimed at testing for correlations between death preparation among Thai Buddhist Elderly
and perceived health status, attitudes about death, social support and gerotranscendence. Simple random sampling was used to recruit 100 Thai
Buddhist elderly members of an elderly club in the municipality area of Mueang District, Chon Buri Province. The sample size was then proportionately adjusted. The research instrumentation employed in data collection was composed of a questionnaire on the personal information concerning perceived health status with assessment scales on attitudes about death, social support, gerotranscendence
and death preparation among Thai Buddhist elderly. The data obtained was analyzed by using statistical percentage, mean, standard deviation and Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation. The reliability coefficients of these instruments were .89, .80, .80, .91 and .81, respectively.
According to the research findings, the Thai Buddhist elderly subjects had a high score of 88.2 percent on death preparation, while attitudes about death and gerotranscendence had a statistically significant positive correlation with death preparation to a moderate degree (r = .36 and = .34, p < .01). Perceived health status had a statistically significant negative correlation with death preparation to a moderate degree (r = -.33, p < .01) and social support was found to have no statistically significant correlation with death preparation.