A study on relationship between the participation in senior welfare programs and the recognition of health condition

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to understand and examine the effects of participation in the health promotion program between elderly (over age sixty) people (male: 98, female: 158) who use a senior welfare center on recognition of their health condition and to contribute to the development of health science. The results of the present study were collected through an interview survey of elderly people at a senior welfare center and show that: 1) Morbidity rate of chronic diseases among the aged was high. 2) The most frequent diseases were arthritis, hypertension, low back pain, and cataract among participants in their 60s–80s. 3) The elderly had a negative recognition of their subjective health state while they had a positive recognition of their relative health state. The confidence of health state in the future was low. 4) The users of health promotion programs showed high satisfaction. They were more likely to participate in the senior programs which could be helpful for their health or which provided educational opportunity. 5) Above all things, the participation in exercise and therapy programs directly influenced the health related concepts. Therefore, these results, in part, suggest that participation in social welfare programs, especially exercise and therapy, positively promoted health recognition among the elderly, and that development of senior specialized physical therapy and the utilization of senior leisure facilities are needed.