THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN THE PERCEPTION TOWARD AGE-FRIENDLY CITY FEATURES AND MENTAL HEALTH STATUS OF THE ELDERLY IN PHOTARAM DISTRICT RATCHABURI PROVINCE THAILAND

Abstract

Since the elderly population statistics is on a continuingly increasing trend, the World Health Organization has proposed the concept of the age-friendly city in 2007 as a response to the aging society with an aim for healthy life among the elderly. This study was a cross-sectional research design with the goal to learn about the association between demographic characteristics and the perception toward the age-friendly city with the mental health status of the elderly in Photaram District, Ratchaburi province, Thailand. The respondents were 432 elderly both male and female with an age between 60-79 years. Data collection tool was a face-to-face interview questionnaire. The interview questions were divided into three parts: demographic characteristics, the perception toward the age-friendly city, and the mental health status of the elderly. For the data analysis, descriptive statistics was used and inferential statistics of the Chi-square for testing of the association was also employed. The results indicated that the level of the perception toward the age-friendly city was on the moderate level in all components, which was also true for the mental health status. As for the association, it was found that the level of education, income, and chronic disease, were associated with the mental health status of the elderly with statistical significance (p < 0.05). The perception toward the age-friendly city in all components was associated with the mental health status of the elderly with statistical significance (p < 0.05) also: outdoor space and building (p=0.014), transportation (p=0.05), housing (p=0.012), social participation (p=0.008), respect and social inclusion (p=0.008), civil participation and employment (p= 0.030), communication and information (p=0.002), as well as community support and health service (p=0.015). This study result could help in planning for the development of Photaram District, Ratchaburi province, Thailand, to become an age-friendly city in the future.