Health Promotion Priorities of Older Adults in a Korean Rural Community

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to assess the priorities of health promotion for older adults in the community. The study attempts to display demographic characteristics, subjective health status, health behaviors and chronic diseases status of the older adults.

Methods: We surveyed 384 senior residents in a community via face-to-face interviews in their homes, who were selected by proportional random sampling. We analysed the frequency, multiple responses and X2 by SPSS 12.0K.

Results: The mean of subjective health status was 54.04±21.69 with a maximum of 100. Our study found that the high priorities in health promotion for older adults were prevention and management of hypertension and diabetes, strengthening of joint and muscles, cancer screening and physical exercise. Prevention of depression and social activities were low priorities. Strengthening of joints and muscles was a high priority among women while smoking cessation and social activities were high priorities of men. Among the respondents of 65 years and older, the younger were interested in vaccination and social activities, and the older in subjectively good health selected prevention and management of hypercholesterolemia and social activities as higher priorities.

Conclusion: In conclusion, health promotion priorities of older adults differed by gender, age group, and subjective health status. Disease-related priorities received more attention than psycho-social health priorities.

This study suggests classifying the priorities into disease, disability, psycho-social categories in order to compare within the priorities and comparing the priorities regionally and nationally.