Self Care of Elderly in Amphoe Bang Ban, Changwat Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya

Abstract

The objectives of this descriptive study were to study and to compare self health care of elderly on the variables of sex and occupations of the elderly. The research population were elderly of both sexes, living in villages of Amphoe Bang Ban, Changwat Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya. The sample size of 555 were stratified randomly drawn from the 6,276 persons in 111 villages. The instrument used for data collection was a set of questionnaire all verified for content validity and reliability. Data was collected in May 2007. The returned questionaries were 492 from 555 (88.65%) . The obtained data were then statistically analysed by percentiles, means and standard deviations. The t-test and one-way analysis of variance were appied to determine the significant differences between means by Schaffeีs test. The results of this study revealed that most of the samples were female (64.60%), ranging in ages from 65 to 69 years (40.20%), had primary school education (88.41%) and farmers (61.59%). Most of them had received health education on self care from health care teams (78.90%). Self care were reported at a good level on nutrition, rest and sleep, exercise, narcotics drug and mental health. The comparison of self care between the males and females revealed there were no statistical differences at 0.05 level. Likewise, comparison of self care in elderly among different occupations showed no statistical differences at 0.05 level. As a result, it is highly recommended that self care in elderly should be encouraged and promoted by family, health care team and elderly groups continuously. Participation and group process have brought about many changes to members especially experiences in self care of elderly.