ABSTRACT
Objective To assess pertinent indicators of elderly-friendly city, so as to provide the basis for carrying out the related work. Methods There were 1 500 elderly people aged at and above 60 years old that were surveyed via questionnaires and structured interviews. Results The core indicators:79.8%reported that their neighborhood was convenient for walking;90.3% reported that bus, under-ground and taxi in Shanghai were suitable for all types of people ( including the physically handicapped, the blind, and the deaf);94.8%reported that there was no difficulty in the payment of housing;96.0%reported that the community had good atmosphere of respecting for the elderly; 56 .8% participated in community volunteer activities;6.7%participated in paid work;53.5%participated in social and cultural activities;99 .7% reported that they could obtain information on health and social services from the community;71.2%reported that they could obtain services for free or below market price when necessary at home.Some core indicators had obvious differences among different genders, age groups, culture, marital status, household types, income sources and income levels.Supplementary and optional indicators:98.6%thought there should be at least one item of house facilities for home-based care for the aged, while 75.6%thought there should be at least four items.26.3% reported to have participated in community team activities.55.2%reported to have participated at least one education or training project during the past one year.90.5% self-reported of good health conditions. Conclusion There is high coverage of barrier-free facility construction, good atmosphere of respecting for the elderly in the community, wide coverage of home-based care for the aged.The elderly people, to some extent, are involved in community activities and various types of training.However, there are still improvements of participation of the elderly in decision-making of local policies, and of senile transformation of the houses the elderly.At the same time, economic, social, demographical, cultural and other factors should be paid close attention to.
ABSTRACT
Background: The objective was to study the health status of the street children in Khammam city and to study the socio-cultural environment of the street children in Khammam city. Methods: Type of study: A prospective and descriptive study. Study Population: All the street children in the city who are less than 18 years of age. 3Sample size: out of total 384 street children in the city, 150 were included in the study. Selection criteria: Children in different age groups of both sexes were selected. A total of 150 street children were included in the study. Data regarding socio-cultural environment and health status was collected by using pretested structured questionnaire after obtaining proper consent. Results: A total of 150 street children were interviewed (Males 86 and females 64). The mean duration of stay on street was 5.31 years. Nearly 10% of children were illiterate. The overall personal hygiene of the children was very bad. 97 (64.7%) children were malnourished. 6.7% of children had scabies. 30.66% children were anaemic. 46% children had Vit A deficiency. 17.33% children had Vit B deficiency. 34.7% children had visual problems. 18.66% children had ear and hearing problems. 60.66% of children had dental problems. 5.3% children had some psychiatric problems. 42.66% children had various addictions. Conclusion: There is an urgent need of coordination among development agents working for the rights of street children and information sharing among all stakeholders to enhance implementation strategies.
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study is to compare the difference of the tendency for depression and leisure functioning between two elderly groups in differnt socio-cultural environment. Also, this study investigated whether the difference of lesiure functioning affected the tendency for depression. The participants are 55 elderly residing in the nursing home in Seoul and 35 Sahalin returning Koreans in KangWon-Do. Leisure Diagnostic Battery (LDB) developed by Witt and Eliss (1987) was used to measure leisure functioning of the elderly and Yesavage (1983)'s Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS measured the tendency of depression. The LDB and GDS were gathered through interviewing. The result of this study reports that the tendency of depreesion in Sahalin returning Koreans was higher than the elderly in Seoul. And the result supports the hypothesis that the elderly in Seoul who have maintained higher leisure functioning showed lower depression level than the Sahalin elderly who had poor leisure functioning. In other words, there were significance between these two groups. This study suggests that education and the leisure program shoud developed and applied for the higher leisure functioning and satisfaction of the elderly (especially elderly in nursing home).