運用社區資本與行動促進老人心理健康

Improving Older Adults' Mental Health by Using Community Capital and Action

王潔媛(Chieh-Yuan Wang)

《輔仁社會研究》 9期 (2019/01) Pp. 109-150

摘要

餘命增加及人口與社會之變遷，連帶改變健康與環境、公民社會及人權發展的意識，社區發展成為強化公民社會的機制，並對我國社區照顧落實產生移轉。隨著社會問題的複雜化、需求多元化，間接影響老人晚年的心理適應，改善心理健康及降低自殺率成為老年之關鍵性議題。新竹市立功社區為人口老化社區，近年面臨老人因病自殺議題，本文分析立功社區如何藉由預防保健之視野，辨識高風險族群，並藉由社會教育增進老人的知識及能力，藉由健康生活型態的落實，以達到預防自殺目標。資料蒐集運用立功社區年度報告及社區需求評估等次級資料及個別訪談進行分析，呈現立功社區如何透過地方組織由下而上之行動建構，運用社區資本作為社會變革和改善弱勢群體健康差異的機制。結果發現社區以促進「心理健康」視角，藉由持續性介入與評估社區需求，在公私協力下彙整多元資源，促進老人社會參與。透過友善社區之建構，創造有益於老人生活型態，降低老人自殺率。此模式可做為我國推展社會福利社區化，建置符合高齡社會、活化長者心理健康社區服務模式之具體參考。

關鍵字

心理健康 ； 高齡化社會 ； 社區資本 ； 安全社區

並列摘要

The increasing life expectancy and ongoing growth of the older adult population have led to the development of new models of aging, the changes in health and environment, and the movement of civil society and human rights. However, the complex social problems and diverse needs could indirectly affect the psychological adaptation of older adults. Improving older adults' mental health and reducing their suicide rate are critical issues in modern gerontological research. Ligong Community has faced the problem of illness-related suicide among older adults. This paper aims to evaluate the Promoting Psychological Health Project, which was carried out at community near the Hsinchu Science Part, Taiwan. A community needs assessment survey was conducted by the Community Development Association. Community capital is a mechanism to improve community health, to affect social change and to ameliorate health disparities in the disadvantaged community. Based on the interview, secondary data were collected from community documents such as community newsletters, annual reports, official evaluation records, and household data over the years, and among others. This project was a collaborative community work. Social workers identified the high-risk groups and prioritized them for preventive services in order to improve the participants' community engagement. The results indicated that suicide rate of older adults dropped because of the common efforts from both public and private partners, as well as a strong bottom-up partnership in the community. The project helped link the multi-dimensional resources to the participants and improved the social participation of older adults. By reshaping the community environment to be more age-friendly, the model can be used to promote the socialization of social welfare, to revitalize the mental health of older adults, and to provide implications for other social services.

並列關鍵字

Community capital ； Mental health ； Suicide rate ； Aging society