A lesson learned from community-based integrated long-term care in Thailand

Abstract

Thailand is the second most rapidly ageing of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. With this rapid pace of population ageing, the demand for long-term care has increased. Due to lower fertility and migration of adult children, the availability of children as a main source of long-term care has been reduced. In order to retain the traditional lifestyle of ageing-in-place, community-based integrated long-term care has been implemented as an alternative approach in Thailand. The development of such community-based care and its challenges can be used as a lesson for other ASEAN countries in confronting ageing societies.