Phuket Rajabhat University's roles in academic services for the complete aged society in the Andaman triangle provinces

• Published in: Educational gerontology Vol. 48; no. 2; pp. 54 - 63
• Main Authors: Luevanich, Chayanit, Naklong, Aimorn, Ngansakul, Porntip
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Routledge 01.02.2022; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Adult education; Aging (Individuals); Career Development; Caregivers; Caring; College Role; Community Needs; Content Analysis; Data Analysis; Educational Gerontology; Educational services; Family (Sociological Unit); Family Environment; Focus Groups; Foreign Countries; Guidelines; Holistic Approach; Income; Learning Activities; Needs Assessment; Older Adults; Older people; Universities; Thailand; Phuket Thailand
• ISSN: 0360-1277; 1521-0472
• DOI: 10.1080/03601277.2021.2017568

This study aimed to investigate Phuket Rajabhat University's role in academic services for the complete aged society. 65 participants, 50 years old and above, were included in the in-depth interview and focus group, content analysis was used for the data analysis. 959 participants were collected data by the questionnaire. The findings revealed that the university had 9 roles to serve the complete aged society. The strongly level of needs among the samples was to promote activities for the older persons and to empower the caring capacity for the elderly's family members. The moderate level included teaching subjects about the elderly, teaching older persons about the management skills related to the elderly, and providing extra income. The recommendations to improve the academic services to meet the needs of the older persons included the community needs assessment focusing on holistic care, home-based elderly preparation, collaboration with local administrative organizations to train the caregivers, to act as the center for the elderly caring center, career development, to provide senior school training, to arrange the tour and to provide special service for the elderly. The study led to the formulation of guidelines for university academic services for future teaching, policies, and research.