| Learning Objective #1: Describe the components of the community capacity building | |||
| Learning Objective #2: Discuss how community capacity building relates to the health of community elderly |
Objective: To measure the effect of community capacity building on the health of the elderly living alone in rural communities in Korea.
Design: One group, pre- and post-test design.
Sample: Eighty-five elderly residents living alone in 32 communities in H eub (equivalent to village in U.S) participated in the study during 2000-2001 upon receipt of their consent.
Interventions and outcome variables: The definitional framework of Chaskin et al. (2001) on community capacity building was used: Characteristics of community capacity, Level of social agency, Functions, Strategies, Conditioning influences and Outcomes. Four public health nurses and a social worker were educated to provide integrated health and social welfare services for the elderly, and for them in turn, to train 37 volunteers to care for the elderly, and to utilize resources more effectively. The research team partnered with the public health center, eub office and 13 community organizations, and utilized mass media to communicate with the community residents, and developed an integrated health and social welfare services for the elderly. Main outcome variables were the changes in elderly self-care ability, satisfaction with services, and quality of life.
Method: Research instruments included self-care ability index, a service satisfaction scale, and a modified No°¯s quality of life scale for clients. Eight public health nurses collected pre- and post-intervention data. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the outcome variables.
Findings: The subjects°¯ self-care ability (chi-square=47.073, p<0.001) and quality of life (t=7.982, p<0.001) were significantly improved and the level of satisfaction with the services provided by care providers was also significantly better (t=-17.838, p<0.001).
Conclusion: Community capacity building approach was shown an effective way to improve the health of the elderly in the community.
Implications: Improving community health by its capacity building may lead to the improvement of the health of the community residents.
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Back to 14th International Nursing Research Congress
Sigma Theta Tau International
10-12 July 2003