Social Engagement among Thai Older Persons with Visual or Hearing Impairment
Keywords:
Social Engagement,, Visual Impairment, Children with Hearing Impairments in Early Stage, Thai Older PersonAbstract
Social engagement is an indicator to measure successful aging of older persons. However, older persons with visual and/or hearing impairment tend to disengage with society. Consequently, loneliness and pressure will erode their mental and physical health. Many scholars have investigated components influencing social engagement of older persons. However, studies related to social engagement of visually- and/or hearing-impaired Thai older persons are rare. That information is important if we are to apply knowledge to promote social engagement of older persons with visual and/or hearing impairment. Therefore, this study attempted to fill this knowledge gap. The analysis was based on analysis of secondary data from the 2014 Survey of Older Persons in Thailand, conducted by the Thai National Statistical Office (NSO) in 2014. The total study sample was 38,671 older persons age 60 years or older. Binary logit model was employed to investigate visual and/or hearing ability that had a statistically-significant relationship with social engagement of visual- and/or hearing-impaired older persons. The results show that visual impairment had no relationship with the level of social engagement. Older persons with hearing impairment were less likely to participate in community groups (OR = 0.885, 95%, CI = 0.803-0.975) and/or social activities (OR = 0.894, 95%, CI = 0.805-0.992) than older persons without hearing impairment. Deaf-blind older persons were also less likely to participate in community groups (OR=0.738,95%, CI=0.670-0.831) and/or village activities (OR=0.694, 95%, CI = 0.627-0.767) than older persons without deafness-blindness. Decreased physical and mental capacity due to geriatric conditions and lack of support from adult children are possible explanations as to why older persons in this study tended to participate less in social activities. The authors hope that the findings from this study help promote quality of life of older persons with hearing and visual impairment.
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