Factors Influencing Preparedness among Pre-Elderly Population Living in Muang District, Suratthani Province

Abstract

This research aimed to study the pre-elderly population’s preparedness in Mueang district, Surat Thani province. Samples were 376 persons who were selected through the simple random sampling method. Instrument was a questionnaire on sociodemographic information, family factors, and preparation of the pre-elderly population. The data collection was conducted during August and October 2020. The data analysis was done using frequencies, percentages for descriptive information and binary logistic regression using enter method for analyzing factors affecting the pre-elderly population’s preparedness.

Results revealed that most of the samples was female (72.4%), aged between 30-44 years old (52.4%), and earned more than 10,000 Baht per month (98.9%). Regarding preparedness, it was found that the sample had preparedness (94.4%) but this study found that the samples who had preparedness also had family debts (91.8%) while those who are not prepared also had family debts (90.5%) as well. When analyzing factors influencing preparedness, it was found that sociodemographic factors had significant influences to pre-elderly population’s preparedness (p<0.05), especially diseases, annual medical check-ups, educational levels, and marital status. Family factors also had significant influences to pre-elderly population’s preparedness (p<0.05), especially family income, number of family members, and period of living in the community. It is recommended that stakeholders should have guidelines to encourage preparedness before aging especially among persons aged 15-29 years with family debts to be able to prepare for aging.