Determination of the reasons causing elderly adults in the community to be housebound: Establishment of an intervention program

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This Study was conducted on 311 senior citizens who did not have the certification of long-term need. The survey showed that 77 subjects (24.8%) were housebound due to the following 8 factors : daily life with less independence ; inconvenient transportation facilities ; assistance required for outings ; great age ; high rate of SDS ; low subjective health performance ; and tiredness from going out.The univariate analysis showed that the housebound adults had a high propensity to have problems such as pain in the knee or hip; anxiety about urinary incontinence or frequency of micturition ; decreased vision; deafness ; tiredness from outings ; sense of shame ; fear of falling; having no taste ; having few friends ; and having a meal alone.Current community health services are not enough to deal with loss of elderly confidence because of role changes or feelings of alienation as they decrease physically leading to being housebound. It is clear we need interventions for the elderly so that they realize again they are the important members of the society, able to participate in social activities with confidence.This study created and conducted an intervention coaching program for enhancing the self-efficacy of the elderly. Consent to cooperate in the intervention program was gained from 14 subjects, who participated in 2 groups (7 subjects each) 5 times (2 hours each time) over 2 months.Self-esteem and depression scale was utilized before and after the program to obtain feedback from the subjects. However data was collected from only from 7 subjects, which was not sufficient for statistical analysis. However, the depression scale of all 7 subjects had improved, and self esteem improved in 4 but decreased in 3.Major comments from subjects after the program included^* "It was fun.", "It was uplifting." and "I feel confident." There were no negative comments.