Kratoo Worapath, Hounnaklang Nuchanad
College of Public Health Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand.
F1000Res. 2025 Mar 31;13:735. doi: 10.12688/f1000research.151221.1. eCollection 2024.
As Thailand's population ages, promoting senior citizens' quality of life (QoL) is crucial. In 2017, the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security launched the "elderly school" initiative to foster lifelong learning and enhance the QoL among senior citizens. However, comprehensive evaluations of its impact on QoL remain limited.
This cross-sectional survey aimed to assess the policy's effect on QoL in Phetchabun province, Thailand. Using quota and systematic sampling, 1,374 senior citizens aged 60-80 participated. Propensity score matching (PSM) with a 1:1 match was employed to estimate the average treatment effect (ATE) of attending the elderly school on QoL. Additionally, multiple linear regression was analyzed to assess the association between QoL and its associated factors.
PSM were matched successfully, the standardized difference was less than 10 percent, and the baseline after matching indicated balances with 687 elderly people in each group. The mean QoL score of the non-attending group was 44.40 (SD = 7.11), and that of the attending group was 57.50 (SD = 7.53). The ATE for elderly people attending school was 10.67 scores (95% CI: 9.67 - 11.67 scores) higher than those unattended. Being female, having monthly income higher than 20,000, having employment, having a caregiver, and attendance at elderly school were positively associated with QoL, and the standardized beta coefficients were 0.078, 0.059, 0.094, 0.066, and 0.550, respectively. Additionally, higher education was positively associated with higher QoL.
The elderly school policy significantly enhanced the QoL of the attending senior citizens. Findings suggest continued collaboration among stakeholders to sustain and optimize this policy for improved seniors' QoL, which has the potential to utilize lifelong learning to create an inclusive framework for healthy aging among senior citizens.
随着泰国人口老龄化，提高老年人的生活质量至关重要。2017年，社会发展与人类安全部发起了“老年学校”倡议，以促进终身学习并提高老年人的生活质量。然而，对其对生活质量影响的全面评估仍然有限。
这项横断面调查旨在评估该政策对泰国彭世洛府老年人生活质量的影响。采用配额抽样和系统抽样，1374名60至80岁的老年人参与其中。采用1:1匹配的倾向得分匹配法（PSM）来估计参加老年学校对生活质量的平均治疗效果（ATE）。此外，还进行了多元线性回归分析，以评估生活质量与其相关因素之间的关联。
PSM成功匹配，标准化差异小于10%，匹配后的基线显示每组有687名老年人达到平衡。未参加组的平均生活质量得分为44.40（标准差 = 7.11），参加组为57.50（标准差 = 7.53）。参加学校的老年人的ATE比未参加的老年人高10.67分（95%置信区间：9.67 - 11.67分）。女性、月收入高于20000、有工作、有照顾者以及参加老年学校与生活质量呈正相关，标准化β系数分别为0.078、0.059、0.094、0.066和0.550。此外，高等教育与较高的生活质量呈正相关。
老年学校政策显著提高了参加老年学校的老年人的生活质量。研究结果表明，利益相关者应继续合作，以维持和优化该政策，从而改善老年人的生活质量，这有可能利用终身学习为老年人创造一个包容性的健康老龄化框架。
