A DEVELOPMENT OF ELDERLY CAREGIVER TRAINING COURSE IN HEALTH TOURISM

Abstract

The objectives of this research were 1) to develop a training course for elderly caregiver in health tourism, 2) to try out a training course for elderly caregiver in health tourism. The target group were tour guides. The research instrument was a training course for elderly caregiver in health tourism. The data were analyzed by comparing the results in various aspects before and after application of the training course.             

The research results found that             

1. Constructing curriculum and verifying curriculum quality. The training course consists of 6 elements as follows: background and importance, principles and goals, course objectives, course structure, guidelines for organizing training workshop, and measurement and evaluation. The examinations of curriculum quality and course documentation were appropriate at highest level. Elderly caregiver training course for medical tourism requires 50 hours theory and 140 hours practice. The curriculum comprises 15 topics: 1) necessity of caring for the elderly 2) roles, ethics and laws related to elderly caregiver 3) concept of the elderly in 21st century, aging process, age-related changes, and need of elderly care; 4) promoting health for the elderly 5) Assessing the elderly’s vital signs and personal hygiene 6) first aid for the elderly 7) Common diseases found in the elderly 8) Use of medications in the elderly 9) Thai wisdom and health care for the elderly 10) Recreational activities for the elderly 11) Creating a supportive environment for the elderly 12) Mental health care for the elderly 13) The travel needs of the elderly: using mobile application and travel planning for individual and group seniors 14) practical training and 15) practical learning by experience.             

2. Evaluation of results (output), overall evaluation of the curriculum was at the highest level. The average score was 4.70 out of 5. 70 percent of the participants wanted to apply medical tourism with the elderly in the family. 22.5 percent of them applied the knowledge to enhance the ability to take care of the elderly as professionals and 7.5 percent applied in their job to enhance different competencies as tour guides. For further impact assessment (outcome), the researcher plans to follow up on the first group of the participants in applying the knowledge and experience gained by planning group activities to implement or create a model for tour guides in various areas.