Factors influencing senior center participation of the elderly in Korea.

Abstract

This study examines factors of the senior center participation of the elderly in Korea. The focus is on demographic characteristics, attitudes, and subjective assessments on life experiences. The main purposes of this study are (1) to identify factors influencing the senior center participation by comparing the relative importance of the factors in predicting the participation status and (2) to set up a developmental target of appropriate programs by distinguishing between two conceptual models--the service delivery model and the social participation model. Adapting Andersen's Medical Service Use Model, the framework chooses three sets of variables--predisposing factor, enabling factor, need factor. 41 variables are picked out for the study, but only 34 variables enter into analysis on order to get quality results. 162 participants and 158 non-participants are selected by a stratified sampling procedure in Seoul, Korea. By chi-square and student t tests, a half of the 34 variables are found to be significantly different between participants and non-participants. Discriminant function analysis is employed to get an optimal set of the most powerful variables in discriminating between participants and non-participants. The stepwise procedure finds out that among the most powerful discriminators are past occupation, area of growing-up, length of residence as predisposing factors, living standard and source of income as enabling factors, and objective and subjective need to join the senior center as need factors. Education level, political participation, attendance of elderly school, present employment status, having a confidant, perceived health, present membership in formal social organization are found to be powerful in subgroups classified by sex, age, and neighborhood income level. In order to get a developmental target, all the possible services and activities are classified into ten programs. Then they are divided into two conceptual models mentioned above. The two models are found to be equally important with emphasis on employment services, health services, education programs, physical activities, and community services. In developing countries like Korea, the choice should be one that meets the extended demands with limited financial resources. Equipped with a better knowledge, welfare planners and senior group designers could provide services to the most needed and at the same time get socially active persons involved in the senior center.