Suchergebnisse

AbstractThailand is among the few developing countries that provide social pension for a significant majority of its older adults. In 2009, the government amended the Old‐Age Allowance (OAA) scheme from a means‐tested to a near‐universal social pension program. Analyzing nationally representative data from the Surveys of Older Persons in Thailand, we found significant changes over the last decade in the patterns of old‐age income sources and filial economic support for parents aged 60 and above. Results show the declining importance of children and the rising significance of OAA as the primary income source. Yet, reliance on OAA was not necessarily associated with a decline in nonmonetary intergenerational support for the parents. Findings reveal that older persons whose main income source was OAA were less likely than others to report income adequacy and positive psychological well‐being, suggesting that the scheme may have little impact in dampening inequality among older Thais.

This study examines whether childless older Thais are more vulnerable to psychological distress relative to older adults with children. Drawing from the 2011 Survey of Older Persons in Thailand (n = 37,936), zero‐inflated negative binomial regression methods examine psychological distress of childless older adults relative to coresident and noncoresident parents. Analyses further explore how gender and marital status moderate this relationship. Results show that 40% of older Thais did not experience any symptoms of psychological distress in the past month. Compared to coresident parents, noncoresident parents showed a higher likelihood of experiencing psychological distress but being childless was associated with increased symptoms of psychological distress. While the relationship between parental status and psychological distress did not significantly differ by gender, marital status presents a significant moderating effect. Specifically, widowed childless older adults and widowed noncoresident parents experienced more symptoms of psychological distress relative to their married counterparts. In collectivistic societies, where the family unit is highly valued, and institutional support is weak, being childless and unmarried may negatively affect one's psychological well‐being in later life. Children and marriage are protective for older Thais' psychological well‐being. The implications for social welfare policies are discussed.

Thailand's marriage system has been undergoing a significant transformation. Past research has often focused on the declining marriage rates, delays in marital timing, and the rise in marital dissolution. Much less attention is paid to remarriage trends and consequences. Addressing this pertinent gap, we analyze multiple nationally representative surveys to examine recent trends, correlates, and potential implications of remarriage among Thai reproductive-age women. Our results indicate that remarriage is commonplace in Thailand, and that birth cohort, educational attainment, residence location, age at first marriage, and children from a previous marriage are significantly associated with the likelihood to remarry. We find that Thai women tend to have additional children after remarriage. While research elsewhere suggests the positive effect of remarriage on health and life satisfaction, this is not evident in Thailand. Women whose remarriage has ended reported significantly lower life satisfaction than those who did not remarry.

Purpose
Using the forensic investigation (FORIN) approach, the purpose of this paper is to identify the factors that exacerbated the loss of human life in one of the most devastated local municipalities on the coast by 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami (GEJET) disaster.


Design/methodology/approach
This paper begins by reviewing the extent of damage to the local municipalities along the Sanriku ria coast, which has a long history of tsunami disasters. Second, the paper compares previous major tsunami events by using a human vulnerability index, and applies this index to detect the city of Rikuzentakata. Third, the paper identifies the root causes of the GEJET disaster in the city. Interview records with disaster victims were used to elucidate the main factors that exacerbated the number of deaths.


Findings
The study indicates that the FORIN approach can be effectively applied to identify the target city for this case study and to point to those factors the most exacerbated human sufferings, and also provides many lessons based on research findings and methodologies to support building resilient societies in the future.


Originality/value
This paper indicates FORIN approach as an effective research template by investigating the GEJET disaster.

Thailand is experiencing more acute population aging than most developing Asian countries. Its population aged 60 and older is anticipated to grow from 10% in 2000 to 38% by 2050. Meanwhile, the oldest-old population that is most likely to require long-term care (LTC) is estimated to increase tenfold during the first half of the 21st century. Family has remained a linchpin of support for Thai elders with LTC needs. Given population aging and other demographic trends such as smaller family size, migration of adult children, and lengthening survival at older ages, policy makers are concerned how such socio-demographic changes may have implications for familial support for older persons with LTC needs and in turn, the wellbeing of the elderly. The Thai government has thus far played a limited role in addressing LTC. While Thailand's recent National Plan for Older Persons recognizes the importance of LTC management, empirical evidence to support such policy planning remains lacking. This study provides a situation analysis of recent LTC needs among older persons in Thailand based on nationally representative surveys. Specifically, we examine prevalence of self-care disability (i.e., elderly with difficulty in activities of daily living) and how such disability varies by socio-demographic characteristics of older persons. Moreover, we assess patterns of caregiving, whether care needs are met, and who primarily takes care of older Thais with LTC needs. We are particularly interested in whether older persons with ADL disability take care of him/herself, or whether they have family members (spouse, children, other relatives) or others (friends, paid carers) as the main caregiver. Furthermore, we examine how types of familial and non-familial caregivers and the quality of caregiving (measured by caregiving knowledge) are associated with the wellbeing of older persons with self-care disability. Our analysis is based primarily on the 2014 Survey of Older Persons in Thailand (SOPT), which is the fifth in a series of Thai government surveys of older persons. The sample consists of 34,173 persons aged 60 and over, of which, 2,020 report having self-care disability.

With an accelerated and sustained decline in fertility and an increase in life expectancy, Thailand has entered its aging phase at a rapid pace. This raises an important question of who should care for the increasing elderly population. Using a survey of adults aged 16–64 years (n = 742) in two provinces in the north‐east (Kalasin) and south (Phang Nga) of Thailand, this paper explores the expectations that individuals have from their children when they become very old. Only one‐third of the respondents expected to live with their children in old age and only one‐fifth anticipated financial assistance. Less than half of them expected personal care and practical care from their children (43% and 38%, respectively). The expectations varied substantially by the number of children and income, with those with higher income reporting lower expectation. Those living in Kalasin, a much poorer province than Phang Nga, had greater expectations from their children in old age. This suggests that, for those with less financial resources, children remain the main care provider for the elderly.

AbstractThe COVID‐19 pandemic has had negative impacts on vulnerable populations worldwide. This study aimed to examine the association between the health worries of urban older people in Thailand and covariates related to income and non‐income poverty, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), and metabolic risk factors (MRFs). The study utilized the 2021 Survey on Housing and Support Services for Poor Older Adults, which sampled lower‐income urban adults aged at least 55 years from five national regions. Bivariate analyses were performed to determine the relationships of NCDs and MRFs with the covariates. Then, binary logistic regression was used to analyze outcomes of perceived health risks including becoming infected with COVID‐19, declining health status, and being unable to access health care. Higher educational attainment and income levels were observed to be negatively correlated with worse health status and the inability to access health care. Subjective household crowding consistently had a positive association with the three health concerns. Having MRFs was related only to concerns about health status and access to health care during the pandemic. Welfare and health policies need to improve their responsiveness to the needs of the older population, especially for protection from socioeconomic shocks such as those seen with the current pandemic.

Population ageing and the well-being of older persons are major emerging challenges for families, communities and government in Thailand as in much of Asia. The Thai government has been giving very serious attention to ageing issues. This was clearly indicated by the adoption of the Second National Plan for Older Persons covering 2002-2021, the prominence of ageing issues in the 2012-16 National Economic and Social Development Plan, and a 2015 establishment of the Department of Older Persons with expanded authority to carry out programs to support elderly Thais. Furthermore, the Old Age Allowance program was expanded in 2009 into a universal social pension for persons 60 and older who lacked other pension coverage. In addition, the National Savings Fund was set up in August 2015 to encourage savings for old age including self-employed persons and others in the informal segment. Thailand is fortunate in having a series of national surveys of the older population that detail their situation and provide comprehensive information for evidence-based policies and programs to address these challenges. The present report draws heavily on the most recent national survey conducted by the National Statistical Office in 2014 but also incorporates results from earlier surveys to document trends. Although the 2014 survey covered persons 50 and older, with exception to Chapter 2, this report focuses on those 60 and older, as this is the age range most commonly used when referring to older persons in Thailand.