Kid Puea Chat is produced through cooperation between the National Defence College Alumni Association and TNN2. Each year, participants from every class of the SML executive program are invited to share their views and ideas, turning knowledge into a force for national development, inspiring new thinking, and encouraging positive energy in Thailand. 

We reviewed an interesting study showing that in 2022 Thailand’s older populationcontinued to increase and had reached 20%. The study also projected that by 2033 Thailand would become a super-aged society. How should the country prepare?

 

 

Our program learned about an academic group dedicated specifically to research on older adults. The group also conducted fieldwork with excellent cooperation from the Governor of Chaiyaphum Province. As this was a highly interesting project, we invited Social Psychology Academic Group 2 to discuss the topic “Improving the Quality of Life ofOlder Adultsin Rural Communities” 

Our assignment was “Improving the Lives of Older Adults in Rural Communities.” We had the opportunity to meet and speak with the governor.
The governor told us about a community group in Village 8, Bung Khla Subdistrict, that had developed its own pilot model. It looked interesting, so we went to Chaiyaphum to study it. Chaiyaphum is a pleasant, compact, and lively city.
It is a very liveable city. The governor had studied the issue thoroughly, even though he had only taken up his post in October 2022. He provided us with extensive information. We also interviewed the district chief officer and the chief executive of the Subdistrict Administrative Organisation by telephone. They gave us clear and useful information. Because a working model was already in place, we decided to conduct research on it. 

The governor’s model is highly distinctive and creates a warm sense of community. How does the group of older adults in Bung Khla operate?

In the SML 14 program, we study the “National Strategy.” One chapter refers to the 13th National Economic and Social Development Plan for 2023–2027.
Improving the quality of life of older adults is an essential task. In this model, a retired police officer and the village head brought together approximately 100 older residents and other community members. Each member contributes 100 baht per month. The fund is then used to visit and assist members when they are ill, providing 1,000 baht in cases of illness and 2,000 baht when a member passes away.  This was the initial model. However, the group later found that money was not the most important factor. The key element was emotional support. Visits from fellow members or the club helped people feel cared for and strengthened their morale. The village head explained that emotional support could help an ill person recover more quickly and may even extend their quality time with family. This made the model especially interesting for our research group. 

It can be described as a project or model that creates warmth and positive energy, with community members valuing and caring for one another. This became the foundation of our academic study. 

What were the background, objectives, and division of responsibilities within the academic group?

Our objective was to study older adults in rural communities. The previous SML3 group had focused on older adults in urban areas, but Thailand has a larger rural context. Urban areas account for around 20%.  Thailand is now an aged society, meaning that people aged 60 and over make up 20% of the population. Over the next 10 years, this 20% Aging Society is expected to rise to around 30%, becoming a Super-Aged Society. Management and public policy will therefore have to change. First, as the number of older adults increases, the working-age population will decline. This is already clear: there are now fewer births than deaths, and during the COVID-19 period the birth rate was particularly low. National development may slow because fewer people will be working, while each worker will need to support more older adults or children. If nothing changes and we continue using the same approaches, this could become a long-term problem. We were therefore interested in the Bung Khla model mentioned by P’Ping Pong because it is based on residents helping one another without relying on government funding. It is a highly interesting model.

This became the topic “Improving the Quality of Life of Older Adults in Rural Communities.” 

For the topic on improving the quality of life ofolder adultsin rural communities, how did the group establish the framework, organise the teams, and develop the work into a strong academic study?

When our instructor gave us the assignment, we divided into groups with a chairperson and vice-chairperson, an academic team, a fieldwork team, and a team researching the National Strategy. Their findings were combined because we wanted the research to reach the government or national leaders and serve as guidance or part of the knowledge base for advancing the National Strategy mentioned earlier. Once each group had gathered information, we began the fieldwork. The academic team first reviewed relevant information. We then interviewed the governor about government policy from the perspective of the province’s senior administration. Next, we interviewed the chief executive and permanent secretary of the Subdistrict Administrative Organisation. We also conducted a focus group with actual members of the older persons’ club, with around 10–20 residents participating. They were eager to share their knowledge. They were already working on this issue, and we explained that we would integrate their experience into an academic presentation. We saw their determination, enjoyed the fieldwork, and obtained information from many different perspectives. 

The first issue was emotional well-being. We found that therural ageing societyhad changed. Village 8 in Bung Khla, the community used as the study model, was originally an agricultural area with large extended families in which parents and children lived together. Development changed that context as the town expanded, bringing Lotus’s, Thai Watsadu, Global House, other businesses, and industrial factories.

Parents remained at home and often felt lonely. As the context changed, children gave money to their parents, but the parents did not primarily want money; they wanted care and conversation. Our study found that what older adults wanted was a place to gather. The governor therefore proposed an older persons’ school. The word “school” should not be interpreted as a conventional school, but as a gathering place where older adults can meet and talk. The Ministry of Public Health could integrate services by sending health personnel to provide health education. At present, village health volunteers divide responsibility at a ratio of one volunteer for every 10 older adults. They have equipment to measure blood pressure, heart rate, and blood glucose, and they provide health information. If the school is established and public health agencies provide basic preventive-health knowledge, older adults are likely to remain healthier, reducing the costs associated with hospital visits.

Another area of integration would involve the Ministry of Education sending teachers to provide recreational activities and general knowledge useful to older adults. The final element would be creating small occupations or productive activities through which older adults could contribute to society. These were the key insights we gained from the fieldwork.

The central issue is emotional well-being. Bringing older adults together for recreation, exchange, and mutual warmth can make them happier and more energetic. They may even remain an important part of the workforce. I would also like to ask P’Thong, as someone who operates a business serving older adults: with the older population continuing to grow, what should the government do to prepare for this expanding social need?

 

Let me first explain the Nursing Home business. At present, the private sector helps share the government’s responsibilities in a way similar to private hospitals. Private hospitals support people who have sufficient income to pay for their own care or families with the financial means to do so. These families can use Nursing Home services without relying on the government budget. Nursing Home services provide integrated care for older adults.  They are not simply places where someone is left to stay, as might be assumed. Doctors conduct regular visits, nurses provide care, and occupational therapists, physical therapists, and care assistants support every aspect of daily life. The service is not limited to older adults with severe conditions; many older people remain generally well. Thai families are increasingly nuclear families, especially in cities, and this has led to rapid growth in the number of Nursing Homes. The Nursing Home market in Thailand is valued at approximately ten billion baht and has been growing by about 1.5 times annually. The wider older-persons economy is estimated at around one hundred billion baht. We view Nursing Homes as helping to reduce the government’s burden. The Department of Health Service Support has also strengthened care standards. Establishing a Nursing Home requires a licence, managers must pass examinations, and care assistants must be properly trained and assessed. Higher standards help relieve pressure on families. Leaving an older person alone at home may create safety risks, loneliness, and a lack of activity, which can contribute to memory decline or conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease. Participating in activities exercises the brain, supports independence, and helps older adults live happily. Once an older person becomes bedridden, care may become a major burden. If older adults can remain independent, younger older adults can help those who are more frail—older adults caring for older adults—without additional government expenditure. Everyone will eventually enter an ageing society, but if we maintain good health, we can become happy and active older adults. 

To help the government reduce its burden, families should first care for older relatives and make time for their parents’ happiness. When families do not have sufficient time, older adults can attend an older persons’ school or use a private care center. In the future, if the government has the budget to establish such centers, it should consider doing so. During our fieldwork in Chaiyaphum, we found that bedridden older adults at home received occasional help from village health volunteers, but support was limited by budgets and very low staffing ratios. Funding residential services and establishing dedicated centers would provide much greater assistance.

Working in the field of older-person care has revealed opportunities to contribute to national development and reduce preventable dependency among older adults. In your view, how can the group’s academic paper inspire the government to prepare for, care for, and improve the country in response to an ageing population?

 

 

 

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