The Survey and Assessment of Housing Conditions of the Elderly in Bangkok Metropolitan

Abstract

While the civilized architecture (universal design) has continuously gained its prominence, the assessment of housing conditions in Thailand, particularly in the aspects of convenience and safety, is relatively minimal. Home safety is related to the quality of human life of all ages, especially for the elderly whose physical and mental health is deteriorating and that their dependence on others keep on increasing when they getting older. This article is aiming at urging and creating awareness among those stakeholders from all sectors, who are responsible for protecting and safeguard quality of life of the elderly, to realize the importance of household survey and the improvement of housing standards in order to provide convenient living space for the elderly. The methodology in this study had involved the reviews on the situations available both in domestic and international reports, specifically the home safety projects for the elderly, as well as, the household survey of 40 elderly households by the District 5 (Bangkok) branch of the Council of Elders Association of Thailand in year 2014. The results had reflected the problems and the needs of safety and convenient houses. The elderly with poor health (30 % of the elderly aged 60 and over) reported that they need urgent renovation of their bathroom, bedroom, kitchen and stairs. Besides, more than 60 % of elderly aged 80 years and older had poor health. These findings suggest the need of the government agencies and private sectors to jointly push for the reform of safety and hygiene in household, to reduce fall accidents in and around the home. The environmental arrangement in safe and livable would help strengthen the values of well-being and safety household become more pervasive in Thailand.