The Development of a Friendly Prototype Community model for the elderly with Quality of Life of Elderly by the Participative Network Partners in the community: A Case study at Phrae Province

Abstract

This participatory action research aimed to develop and examine the outcomes of a community-based participatory model for creating age-friendly prototype communities in Phrae Province, Thailand. The study participants included 1) 25 community leaders and stakeholders and 2) 306 older adults. Data were collected through questionnaires and focus group discussions, and analyzed using content analysis, descriptive statistics, and inferential statistics with a paired
t-test.

The findings revealed that the developed model was based on participatory collaboration among community members and multi-sectoral networks, including public and private sectors, consistent with the principles of PAR. The model comprised five key steps: 1) community assessment guided by the World Health Organization’s concept of age-friendly cities, 2) needs assessment and issue prioritization, 3) development planning, 4) feedback and policy advocacy through community and administrative channels and 5) evaluation and continuous reflection for sustainable improvement. This process resulted in the establishment of
a prototype age-friendly community aligned with the WHO’s eight domains of age-friendly cities.

Regarding outcomes, the overall quality of life scores of older adults significantly improved after the implementation (p < 0.05). Domain-specific analysis indicated statistically significant improvements in psychological well-being, social relationships, and environmental aspects (p < 0.05), while physical health scores showed a positive trend but did not reach statistical significance
(p = 0.07).

Keywords:  Age-Friendly Community, Participation, Quality of Life