Community Innovation and Regional Sustainability: A Case Study on an Elder Social Survey Conducted by National Cheng Kung University

Abstract

National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) promotes university social responsibility and strives to ensure that all of its teaching staff and students engage in academics in a manner that incorporates both social awareness and social practice. The NCKU team has launched a series of social practice and research projects focused on accompanying and caring for older adults who live in the community, looking to establish a social practice model that bridges university teaching and research to practical community needs. The objective of this initiative is to develop an innovative model of social support and a new model for younger generations to work with older adults living in the community. The results of this survey project show better well-being in older adults to be associated with the following sets of traits: exercising regularly and lacking dental problems; engaging in daily laughter and holding positive aging perceptions; and having a higher subjective social status, more family support, and a sense of community attachment. The study results imply that multiple factors affect well-being in the context of caring for community-dwelling older adults and social development, especially during the current COVID-19 pandemic.