INTERPROFESSIONAL EDUCATION FOR HAPPY AGING SOCIETY IN THAILAND: STRATEGIC APPROACHES

Abstract

The number of elderly people in Thailand dramatically increases leading to Aged Society in 2025. According to the population of Thailand in 2013, Thailand has 9.6 million elderly people and presumably rises to 17.6 million in 2030. In 2040, the United Nations (UN) estimated that Thailand will have the highest elderly population in ASEAN. Recently, caring for seniors depended on the healthcare professionals and Social Development and Human Security team as opposed to trends of elderly care in the next few years that require in four dimensions including economic, social, health and environmental and public services. Interprofessional education (IPE), therefore, seems to be strategic approaches for building the happy aging society in Thailand.

The aims of this study were to 1) Explore the academic curriculum of multidisciplinary and literature reviews to identify current knowledge and practices of interprofessionals relating to elderly care 2) Outline strategic approaches necessary for building the happy aging society via interprofessionals. The literature search was conducted with the assistance of a librarian from Boromrajonani College of Nursing Nakhon, Lampang. Databases searched included CINAHL and Clinical Keys. Additional searching was done using Google and Google Scholar to search for literature and any reports of interprofessional education relating to aging in use in Thailand. Results presented regarding 1) the relevant activities of individual professionals to aged care 2) Strategic approaches needed for happy aging society in Thailand based on interprofessional education and collaboration.

It could be concluded from this study that not only healthcare professional can built the happy aging society but also require knowledge and practices of multidisciplinary which train or implement via interprofessional education.