Building well-being for the elderly in the community by novice nursing student and fostering family: A case study of Kalantha sub-district community, Muang district, Buriram province.

Abstract

This study is participatory action research. The objectives were to 1) compare the well-being of the elderly in the community before and after the participating in building well-being activity for the elderly in community novice nursing student and foster family: a case study of Kalantha sub-district community, Muang district, Buriram province 2) evaluate the learning outcome under Thai Qualifications Framework for Higher Education (TQF) of third year undergraduate nursing students of Nursing Faculty, Buriram Rajabhat University supervisory in the course of practical training gerontological nursing practice in the community 1, 3) investigate the satisfaction of participants. The research was conducted from  November 2020 to February 2021. The research participants consisted of 1) 32 foster families with chronically ill elderly 2) 32 third year nursing students who are practicing in the Adult and Gerontological Nursing Practicum I 3) 20 village health volunteers form moo 2 and moo 6 Kalantha sub-district 4) 2 registered nurses at Ban KhokKlang Sub-District Health Promoting Hospital 5) 2 village headmen moo 2 and moo 6 6) 1 local care volunteer. The research was conducted in 5 steps with consisted of; Step 1: Situation Analysis of Elderly Health in the Community, Step 2: Planning Activities, Step 3: Implementation, Step 4: Reflecting, and Step 5: Evaluation. Data were collected by using the holistic well-being of the elderly questionnaire and the learning outcome under TQF in gerontological nursing practice in the community      questionnaire, and the participant satisfaction questionnaire. The content validity by Item-Objective Congruence (IOC) was greater than 0.60 for all items. The reliability was analyzed according to Cronbach's Alpha Coefficient was 0.94, 0.98 and 0.96 respectively. Data were analyzed by using descriptive and T-test statistics.

            The results showed that: 1) After participating in the activity, elderly people perceived well-being means scores significantly higher than before the participation (p < 0.05) in all 4 aspects of well-being; physical, mental, social, intellectual. 2) TQF level of undergraduates were rather high (x̄= 4.48, SD 0.56). The highest average score of the three skills was ethics and moral, followed by interpersonal skills and responsibility and professional     practice skills respectively. 3) The satisfaction of participants toward the building well-being activities for elderly in the community by novice’s nursing student and fostering family was at the highest level (x̄=4.76, SD 0.33)

            The results of the research revealed that; building well-being for the elderly in the community by novice nursing student and fostering family lead to the enhancement of elderly well-being. It also developed learning outcomes under the qualification’s framework for higher education, and people in the community feel being part in supporting to produce the nursing graduates to serve the society in accordance with the community's expectations.