Quality of life and mental health among Thai older workers in community enterprises

Abstract

Purpose-An aging society is a growing global reality resulting in an increasing number of older workers, especially in community enterprises. It is important to understand factors that influence the mental health and quality of life (QOL) of these older workers. The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of personal, work, and mental health factors on the QOL among older workers in community enterprises. Design/methodology/approach-This cross-sectional study examined the mental health and QOL of 387 older workers from three industries: food production, handicraft, and farm-related work. These participants formed a representative sample of the 19,200 members of the 1,184 groups in the community enterprise sector in Nakhon Ratchasima province. Stratified random sampling technique was used. Pearson's Product Moment Correlation Analysis was used to examine the factors associated with QOL. A multiple regression statistical model was used to examine the QOL predicting factors. Findings-The response rate for this study was 93.25 percent. The majority of participants were female (73.4 percent). The majority of older workers were educated to primary school educational level (81.4 percent). The ratio of workers within each project included farm-related work (36.7 percent), handicraft (37.7 percent) and food production (25.6 percent). Most older workers (90.2 percent) had normal mental health based on their GHQ screening. The overall QOL average score was 88.43 (SD 10.43). The results suggested that the QOL is related to age, income, somatic symptoms, anxiety and insomnia, social dysfunction, severe depression, and mental health problems. Additionally, multiple regression analysis indicated social dysfunction and income were significant predictors for the QOL of older workers with R 2 ¼ 0.118, F ¼ 15.53 (p o0.001). Originality/value-With the results showing associations between personal factors and work factors relating to QOL, it is important for health professionals to pay attention to older workers' work environments, financial issues, and mental health.

Factors of Capital on Depression in Older Adulthood: A Comparison of Urban and Rural Regions in Korea

“…Existing studies on mental health among older adults have primarily focused on individual characteristics, such as age, sex, educational level, and household type, or simply emphasized the importance of a particular form of capital [26,65]. As a result of referring to such fragmentary research data, mental health policies in Korea have been limited.…”

“…Pinxten and Lievens (2014) showed that economic and social capital has a positive effect on both physical and mental health, while cultural capital has a positive effect only on physical health [25]. Moreover, Hanklang et al (2018) reported individual income, serious economic recession, and social dysfunction as predictors of geriatric depression. In particular, volunteering activities as a means of social participation, a component of social capital, alleviate the adverse outcomes of stress and thus increase life satisfaction while diminishing depression and anxiety [26].…”

“…Moreover, Hanklang et al (2018) reported individual income, serious economic recession, and social dysfunction as predictors of geriatric depression. In particular, volunteering activities as a means of social participation, a component of social capital, alleviate the adverse outcomes of stress and thus increase life satisfaction while diminishing depression and anxiety [26]. These activities have been found to be more effective in older adults with poor social integration [27,28].…”

タイの高齢農作業従事者の慢性疾患と屋外農場での高温知覚に関連する危険要因

“…Chemical, physical, biological, and/or psychosocial hazards may exist in the workplace and have the potential to harm employees' physical and mental health [1]. Working on outdoor farms is a risk factor affecting the workers' physiological strain, quality of life (QOL) and mental health because they are exposed to extreme heat, especially elderly workers [2][3][4], but many studies lack information on the effects of working outdoors on farms specifically among elderly workers during this era of climate change [5]. Workers in outdoor farms are exposed to several po-tential hazards, including a high level of heat [2,6].…”

“…As a result, personal and working factors are related to quality of life. It is critical for health experts to pay attention not only to the financial issues and mental health, but also the elderly workers' working environments [3].…”