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The Needs for Improving the Quality of Life of the Elderly in Rural Areas of Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Thailand

This descriptive research aimed to study the needs for improving the quality of life of the elderly in rural areas of Nakhon Ratchasima Province. The samples were 400 elderly people in the study areas, selected by the multi-stage cluster sampling method. The data collection tool was the structured interview questionnaire. The data were analyzed for frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. The results showed that elderly were mostly female (68.8 percent) with the early elderly period (60-69 years) and middle elderly period (70-79 years), 41.5 and 39.8 percent, respectively. Of the samples, 56.8 percent were married, 88.8 percent held the primary school qualification, 54 percent were unemployed, 64.8 percent had their income not exceeding 1,000 baht a month. Most elderly can help themselves in doing daily routines (74.8 percent), some of them (87.2 percent) have their couple, relatives, or children look after, and 80.2 percent of them have their illness. The most common disease was hypertension (46.3 percent). Most elderly (86.75 percent) indicated their requirements, while 13.25 percent did not reported any extra needs for the reason that they already had a good life. The overall needs for living a better quality of life include the elderly requiring for some incomes for their expenses, investment, healthcare, and donation (29.75 percent), followed by wanting to be healthier, free from illness, get over the current diseases, and be motivated to work (24.75 percent), and they wanted descendant to be happy, obedient, harmony, good people, graduation, and have a good job (6.75 percent). There are two main suggestions made out of this study. Firstly, related organizations should utilize the information on elderly’s requirements in the planning for elderly care, especially the career promotion based on the potential and experiences of those who desire to work. Additionally, there should be campaigns for retirement saving to strengthen financial security, as well as to provide social welfare that meets the elderly’s needs based on factual information from research studies. All these applications would greatly enhance the quality of life of the elderly, adding value to the community and the nation.