ObjectiveTo describe the circumstances of the elderly with dementia and their caregivers’ characteristics in order to examine factors related to activities of daily living (ADL) and household income to propose a long-term care policy for rural areas of Thailand.SettingA cross-sectional study at the household level in three rural regions of Thailand where there were initiatives relating to community care for people with dementia.ParticipantsCaregivers of 140 people with dementia were recruited for the study.Primary and secondary outcome measuresSocioeconomic characteristics including data from assessment of ADL and instrumental ADL and the Thai version of Resource Utilisation in Dementia were collected. Descriptive statistics were used to explain the characteristics of the elderly with dementia and the caregivers while inferential statistics were used to examine the associations between different factors of elderly patients with dementia with their dependency level and household socioeconomic status.ResultsEighty-six per cent of the dementia caregivers were household informal caregivers as half of them also had to work outside the home. Half of the primary caregivers had no support and no minor caregivers. The elderly with dementia with high dependency levels were found to have a significant association with age, dementia severity, chance of hospitalisation and number of hospitalisations. Though most of these rural samples had low household incomes, the patients in the lower-income households had significantly lower dementia severity, but, with the health benefit coverage had significantly higher chances of hospitalisation.ConclusionAs the informal caregivers are the principal human resources for dementia care and services in rural area, policymakers should consider informal care for the Thai elderly with dementia and promote it as the dominant pattern of dementia care in Thailand.
PurposeThis paper aims to explore the aging society situation, long-term care (LTC) policy preparation, COVID-19’s impact on older people, and post-pandemic preparations in Thailand and the implications for The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries.Design/methodology/approachOnline databases from international, national, academic agencies and SCOPUS database from January 2019 to July 2021 were utilized for analysis. Relevant literature and data were selected for review.FindingsThe evidence suggests that the proportion of the aging population is increasing due to declined fertility and rising life expectancy. Current and future demand for effective healthcare in ASEAN will be better achieved with policies like the Universal Health Coverage and Primary Health Care system. While some countries, specifically Thailand, are developing and expanding their LTC policies, some concerns regarding the active aging policy remain. Most ASEAN countries are using public domain for LTC policies. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has posed a major challenge in implementing LTC and affected the vulnerable aging population in many aspects, including social protection issues in Thailand.Originality/valueWith the support from international organizations, ASEAN countries have framed several policy strategies in response to the increasing aging population, such as providing more LTC in the community. The unexpected challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic compel policymakers to consider resource allocations and community-based services. On the positive side, as the pandemic has made the vulnerable group exposed, social protection issues have been brought to the forefront of the political debate and called for an appropriate policy response.
Background: While Vietnam’s Expanded Program on Immunization does not cover influenza vaccines, people must pay out-of-pocket for influenza vaccination. Healthcare professionals have a high risk of contracting influenza, but their vaccination rate is low. Objective: To examine the willingness to pay (WTP) for influenza vaccination among healthcare professionals in Vietnam. It also recommends financing sources for influenza vaccination among healthcare professionals and determines possible measures to expand vaccine coverage. Method: We interviewed 130 healthcare professionals in a national hospital in Hanoi in July 2021. We used Andersen’s behavioral Model (ABM) as an initial approach. The double-bounded dichotomous-choice questions were used to determine WTP for influenza vaccination among the target group. Collected responses were coded and analysed through IBM SPSS version 20 for descriptive, chi-square analyses. Results: Most of the healthcare professionals who responded to this study were female with 75.4 % of the total 130 respondents. The mean age of participants was 34.08 years old. The average maximum WTP for influenza vaccination services was 357.57 VND (USD 15.3). Most of the participants reported that individuals should pay a part of the cost, and four-fifths reported they believed that the government and medical insurance should subsidize the service (80.8 % and 85.4 %). The Chi-square test showed that there was a significant association between perceived severity and history of influenza vaccination with the WTP, X2(1, N=130) = 4.18, p = 0.04 and X2 (1, N=130) = 7.81, p = 0.005, respectively. Conclusion: The WTP for influenza vaccination among healthcare professionals was found relatively high. Suggesting that price is not a primary barrier. The government and medical insurance were believed to be the potential agencies for improving vaccination uptake as these agencies were expected to be the subsidized actors. Other health interventions such as influenza literacy and communication methods are also needed to expand vaccine coverage. (*The paper was presented at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University’s College of Professional and Continuing Education (CPCE) Conference “Post-pandemic health and long-term care: A new paradigm”. September 2021)
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.