Subjective Health Assessment of Elderly Agricultural Worker

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to survey of the subjective health status of the elderly farmer. Background: With increase of aged population, the health of the elderly farmer has become main concerns of the elderly in the rural community. For the effects of the factors related to quality of life, subjective health condition showed the largest influence. Method: The survey was conducted by 326 elderly farmers aged 50 and older in rural areas through structured questionnaires. Survey questionnaire consisted items of general characteristics, health-related life habits, levels of stress(SF-PWI), symptom of musculoskeletal diseases and general level of health(SF-36). For the data analysis, SPSS 19.0K was used, and analysis was conducted by using frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. For the symptom prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders and comparison of average level of health, chi-square test and t-test were used. Results: The results of the study are as follows. It was shown that the symptom prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders had a significant difference in gender (p<0.01). Frequency analysis on presence of musculoskeletal symptoms in each part of body showed that leg/knee region was 28.1%, back region was 26.6%, shoulder region was 18.0%, arm/elbow region was 11.9%, hand/wrist region was 8.2% and neck region was 7.2%. According to comparison of average level of health, a social functioning were the highest as score 87.3, followed by mental health(65.6) and role limitation-emotional(65.5). Conclusion: Health promotion program for the elderly and female in the rural are needed. Application: The survey of the subjective health status of the elderly should be used for planning factors to make a health improvement plan in elderly farmer.

Agricultural Labor Environment and Work Safety

“…As for the labor population in the rural village, most agricultural work is carried out by aged people and women, and therefore, the prevalence rates of musculoskeletal diseases (knee arthritis, lumbar degenerative kyphosis) related with leg/knee (28.1%) and back (26.6%) were the highest (Seo et al, 2013). Musculoskeletal diseases taking up the most among chronic diseases occur form various ages, and the importance of health-related quality of life emerges from the social and medical perspectives (Jaeng, 2006).…”