The needs for organizing recreational activities for senior citizens in ban lao sub-district, ban fang district, khonkaen province

Abstract

The objectives of this research were to study 1) the needs for organizing recreational activities for senior citizens in Ban Lao Sub-district, Ban Fang District, Khon Kaen Province, 2) examine problems and obstacles of organizing recreational activities for senior citizens, and 3) explore how to organize recreational activities according to the needs of senior citizens. This study is a qualitative research whose key informants consisted of 30 senior citizens who were 60 years old or over, both male and female, residing in Ban Lao Sub-district, Ban Fang District, Khon Kaen Province, 2 neighbors, 2 community leaders, 2 family members who lived with senior citizens, and 2 government officials, totaling 38 persons. The tools used for data collection included in-depth interview and non-participant observation. The data were analyzed using content analysis. The findings were as follows: 1) Regarding the needs for organizing recreational activities for senior citizens, it was found that the senior citizens wanted to take part in hobbies, social activities, exercise activities, and traveling activities, 2) Regarding problems and obstacles of organizing recreational activities for senior citizens, it was found that problems and obstacles came from personal, family, and community, 3) Regarding how to organize recreational activities according to the needs of senior citizens, it was found that public and private organizations should support and promote recreational activities for senior citizens as currently there are not so many activities suitable for senior citizens in each age group, and some activities in  the past could not be applied in daily life.