Active Aging in ASEAN Countries: Influences from Age-Friendly Environments, Lifestyles, and Socio-Demographic Factors

Sariyamon Tiraphat, Vijj Kasemsup, Doungjai Buntup, Murallitharan Munisamy, Thang Huu Nguyen and Aung Hpone Myint
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Sariyamon Tiraphat: ASEAN Institute for Health Development, Mahidol University, Salaya, Nakhon Pathom 73170, Thailand
Vijj Kasemsup: ASEAN Institute for Health Development, Mahidol University, Salaya, Nakhon Pathom 73170, Thailand
Doungjai Buntup: ASEAN Institute for Health Development, Mahidol University, Salaya, Nakhon Pathom 73170, Thailand
Murallitharan Munisamy: National Cancer Society of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 50300, Malaysia
Thang Huu Nguyen: School for Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
Aung Hpone Myint: Community Partners International (CPI) Bahan Township, Yangon 11201, Myanmar

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 16, 1-13

Abstract: Active aging is a challenging issue to promote older population health; still, there is little clarity on research investigating the determinants of active aging in developing countries. Therefore, this research aimed to examine the factors associated with the active aging of the older populations in ASEAN’s low and middle-income countries by focusing on Malaysia, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Thailand. The study is a cross-sectional quantitative research study using multi-stage cluster sampling to randomize the sample. The sample consists of 2031 older people aged 55 years and over, including 510 Thai, 537 Malaysian, 487 Myanmar, and 497 Vietnamese. We collected a quantitative questionnaire of age-friendly environmental scale and active aging scale based on the World Health Organization (WHO) concept. The predictors of active aging include age-friendly environments, lifestyles, and socioeconomic factors; the data are analyzed by using multiple logistic regression. After adjusting for other factors, we found that older people living in a community with higher levels of age-friendly environments are 5.52 times more active than those in lower levels of age-friendly environments. Moreover, the older population with healthy lifestyles such as good dietary intake and high physical activity will be 4.93 times more active than those with unhealthy lifestyles. Additionally, older adults with partners, higher education, and aged between 55 and 64 years will be 1.70, 2.61, and 1.63 times more active than those with separate/divorce/widow, primary education, and age at 75 years or higher, respectively. Our results contribute considerable evidence for ASEAN policy-making to promote active aging in this region.

Keywords: age-friendly environment; active aging; healthy aging; healthy lifestyle; ASEAN; elderly population (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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