Social welfare policy of elderly faced with natural disaster in vulnerable area: A case study in Lower north of Thailand

The objectives of this research were to: 1) study the well-being, health status and social welfare of the elderly 2) study the potential of Government and Non-government Organization for supporting social welfare of elderly, and 3) provide policy recommendations on the social welfare of the elderly in the area vulnerable affected from the natural disasters. The research methodology was mixed- method. The quantitative study, there were 657 elderly people who were systematic random sampling selected from utilization. The tools used in collecting data in the study were questionnaires. Data were analyzed by using means, standard deviation as descriptive statistics, and factors analysis was used to prove the relationship among factors. The qualitative study, there were 60 samples purposive selected based on their qualifications as social actors for public policy in social welfare of the elderly by Future Search Conference. The data were analyzed by content analysis. The results showed that 1) the components of elderly’s well-being in the research area had four main dimensions: Physical, Mental, Social, and Spiritual. Additionally, the social welfare of the elderly was found to be at a lower than their actual needs in all items. Whereas mean scores of social welfare and the elderly’s actual needs were compared. 2) The government and non-government organizations have the potential to support social welfare systems. 3) A social welfare guideline should be adopted that is relevant to the social changes and social context of the area such as income support to increase revenue, tax exemption, increase availability of and access to public service and recreation to improve the health of the elderly. The local government administration should be a federal agency and a functional care center responsible for the integration of plans and projects and for coordinating with other agencies for right protection and support of the elderly.