偏遠社區關懷據點服務與高齡者心理健康關係之探討-以石槽關懷據點為例

Abstract

我國於2018年正式進入世界衛生組織定義的「高齡社會」。面對人口老化與照護需求增加，各國現在最關切是老人如何健康地邁向成功老化。特別是老人在老化過程中，身體機能退化、社會網絡縮減及社會互動減少，會影響心理健康狀況。因此研究者企圖探究能夠維持老人心理健康的社會支持機制。社會支持能從個人到社會層面來提供；以社會面角度來看，社區關懷據點便是提供在地社會支持社區高齡者健康的重要機制。社會在高度都市化以後，青壯人口大量移往都市就業就學，人口集中於城市，偏遠地區的人口外移嚴重，社區裡的鄰里關係變薄弱，造成地區性的社會支持不足。因此，在地社會支持是需要被重視的社會資源。據此，本研究探討偏遠社區關懷據點透過哪些社會支持及健康促進方案，促進高齡者的心理健康，特別是在情緒健康方面。研究方法上，本研究採用田野觀察及深度訪談法，透過參與社區據點活動與課程服務進行觀察記錄，以參與關懷據點服務老人為研究對象，觀察關懷據點的功能與情緒健康之間的關係。透過本論文檢視偏遠社區關懷據點所提供的社會支持與高齡者情緒健康相關性，冀望在實務上能夠幫助高齡者達到維持心理健康的目標。

In 2018, Taiwan officially has been an aged society defied by WHO. One of the most challenges in an aged society is how to live healthily as aging and nursing demands go up. In late adulthood, people face physical fading, mental feeble, and social activities decrease. To live healthily, they highly demand social support to help them facing inconvenience caused by physical fading naturally. Social support is known as social capital. Urban Research shows that social support is significantly associated with one’s health especially among the elderly due to the urban area provides its residents much more access to social activities and facilities. However, compared to its urban counterpart, remote areas have less resources to provide such social services resulting in its old residents lack social capital to support their late life. To turn over this disadvantage, the government set up day care center for the elderly for facilitating more social interaction between social workers and the old residents, as well as among themselves. In order to assess the functions of this day care center in remote area and its strategies for fostering local social support, the author personally participated the day care center’s daily activities as a volunteer for a year. Through my field study, I found the social support provided by this day care center did help these old residents to smiley hang out with their neighbors more often. I also provide solid policy suggestions for improving this significant social service on facilitating local (especially remote area) social support for our lovely old residents.