J Multidiscip Healthc. 2026 Jun 3;19:617553. doi: 10.2147/JMDH.S617553. eCollection 2026.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The growing population of older adults who are vulnerable to family care issues is primarily due to a lack of family support or their families’ inability to provide adequate care, particularly in Thailand’s semi-urban regions. Thailand has introduced several policies to support its aging population. However, important gaps remain for older adults with family care vulnerability. This study aimed to investigate factors relating to the quality of life of older adults with family care vulnerability in semi-urban regions of Thailand.
METHODS: This study employed a cross-sectional survey using the WHOQOL-BREF instrument. Data were gathered with 119 older adults with family care vulnerability in a semi-urban of Thailand. Data analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics for distributions, Fisher’s Exact Test for qualitative factors, and Pearson’s correlation for quantitative variables, with significance set at 0.05.
RESULTS: Overall, 86.6% of participants indicated a reasonable quality of life, with the highest satisfaction in life (69.7%), access to news (67.2%), environmental quality (61.4%), satisfaction levels in personal safety (61.3%), and sleep (61.3%), while low satisfaction was exhibited in financial stability, enduring adverse feelings, and sexual health. Significant characteristics associated with quality of life include chronic illness (p = 0.042), accompanying individuals at the service center (p = 0.013), engagement in community activities (p = 0.005), availability of family members for consultation (p = 0.007), age (r = -0.226, p = 0.014), distance from home to the service center (r = -0.275, p < 0.001), and family income (r = 0.215, p = 0.019).
CONCLUSION: This study suggests that enhancing older adults’ well-being requires economic security, accessible healthcare, and strong social ties. Policies should reduce isolation and foster community participation to ensure equality and sustainable aging support.
PMID:42261569 | PMC:PMC13242822 | DOI:10.2147/JMDH.S617553
