A Model for Organizing Recreational Activities to Develop Adaptability of the Elderly in Mueang District, Udon Thani Province

Abstract

                The objectives of this research were to 1) develop a model for organizing recreational activities to develop adaptability of the elderly, 2) study the results of using the model for organizing recreational activities to develop adaptability of the elderly, and 3) study the recommendations for the model for organizing recreational activities to develop adaptability of the elderly. The research was divided into 2 phases: Phase 1 was the development of a model for organizing recreational activities. The sample was 285 elders who resided in Mueang District, Udon Thani Province obtained by multi-stage random sampling. The employed research instruments were 1) a questionnaire to assess the needs for organizing recreational activities, the reliability value was 0.88, 2) the model for organizing recreational activities for the elderly had internal consistency ranging between 0.67-1.00, and 3) the model quality evaluation form. Phase 2 was the study of the results of using the model for organizing recreational activities. The sample was 30 voluntary  elders who resided in Mueang District, Udon Thani Province obtained by simple random sampling, and 11 experts. The employed research instruments included 1) a scale to assess adaptability of the elderly with its reliability of 0.93, and 2) a form containing guidelines for group discussion. Data were analyzed using the percentage, mean, standard deviation, t-test and content analysis. The research results were as follows: 1) the model for organizing recreational activities to develop adaptability of the elderly composed of the objectives, target groups, contents, activity plan, materials and equipment, and evaluation; 2) the adaptability of the elderly after the experiment was statistically higher than that of before the experiment at the .05 level of significance; and 3) the recommendations were that the evaluation of recreational activities should be authentic, the length of time for recreational activities should be flexible, and the ability to do the activities of  each elder should be taken into account.