Social Welfare for Thailand’s Elderly: Policy Perspectives and Proposals for Co-production
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
With the increasing number of older adults and the mechanisms driving elderly work in the past, most work is separated. There is a redundancy in the issue of promoting and supporting the welfare of the elderly and redundant space. Many agencies deal with the elderly. As a result, the operation of the elderly is not considered part of the overall welfare provision. The objectives of this study were (1) to study the problem of social welfare provision for the elderly, according to the process of public policy, categorized into policy formulation, policy implementation, and policy evaluation, and (2) to analyze the social welfare provision for the elderly in the areas of health, housing, income, employment, education, recreation, and general social services from the perspective of experts. Qualitative research was conducted on secondary data and data collected using an Ethnographic Delphi Futures Research technique, whereby twenty-five informants were classified into three groups: 1) Nine people with direct or indirect roles and responsibilities in the development of welfare schemes and setting guidelines for the elderly; 2) Ten individuals with roles providing welfare services to the elderly in either provincial or local areas, and 3) Six academics studying welfare provisions for the elderly. In-depth interviews were conducted, and data systems were organized to analyze and classify content. The analysis found that: 1) Public policy is currently inadequate due to the following problems and management conditions: a) A central authority determines policy formulation concerning welfare for the elderly. As a result, welfare provisions cannot respond to the specific problems of the elderly in each area; b) A gap exists between policy formulation and implementation of each welfare policy; and c) While welfare policies do undergo an evaluation process, assessments are low quality and incomprehensive according to standards outlined in Thailand’s Elderly Act; 2) All experts agreed that government mechanisms should provide welfare for the elderly in cooperation with the government, private and public sectors to address insufficient budget allocation and reduce the redundancy of receiving interest. It is proposed that social welfare for the elderly should follow a pluralistic model. Many parties participate in welfare provision utilizing groups or networks of people in the community. Interconnected networks require co-production and joint management to optimize the efficiency and quality of public services.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
References
Abdullahi, M., & Othman, N. (2020). Bridging the gap between policy intent and implementation. Journal of Science, Technology and Innovation Policy, 6(1), 1-10.
Almeida, L. D. A, & Gomes, R. C. (2018). The process of public policy: Literature review, theoretical reflections and suggestions for future research. Cadernos EBAPE.BR, 16(3), 444-455.
Anyebe, A. A. (2018). An overview of approaches to the study of public policy. International Journal of Political Science, 4(1), 8-17.
Barnes, H., Smeaton, D., & Taylor, R. (2009). An ageing workforce: The employer’s perspective. Retrieved from https://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/sites/default/files/ files/An%20 Ageing%20Workforce_An%20Employer's%20Perspective.pdf
Boyle, D., & Michael, H. (2009). The challenge of co-production: How equal partnerships between professionals and the public are crucial to improving public services. London, United Kingdom: The New Economic Foundation.
Calland, G. (2010). Bridging the gap between policy and action. Journal of E-Learning and Knowledge Society, 6(1), 13-27.
Chairungruang, C. (2015). Development of the life quality of the elderly. Academic Journal Bangkok Thonburi University, 4(2), 14-28.
Chewasopit, W. (2019). Aging Society: The changed marketing factor. Journal of MCU Nakhondhat, 6(1), 38-54.
Dempwolf, C. S., & Lyles, L. W. (2012). The uses of social network analysis in planning: A review of the literature. Journal of Planning Literature, 27(1), 3-21.
Department of Older Persons. (2019). Measures to drive the national agenda on the ageing society (Revised version). Bangkok, Thailand: Amarin Printingand Publishing.
Department of Older Persons. (2020). 6 sustainable 4 change. Retrieved from http://www.dop.go.th/th/ebook/001
Dunn, W. N. (2017). Public policy analysis: An integrated approach. New York, United States: Routledge.
Foundation of Thai Gerontology Research and Development Institute. (2020). Situation of Thai elderly 2019. Bangkok, Thailand: Foundation of Thai Gerontology Research and Development Institute.
Giordano, S. (2005). Respect for equality and the treatment of the elderly: Declarations of human rights and age-based rationing. Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, 14(1), 83-92.
Hutahaean, M. (2016). The importance of stakeholders approach in public policy making. Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, 84, 462-466.
JanJam, S., & Chantachum, W. (2013). Evaluate the performance of managing the elderly welfare policy by Khu Sub -district administrative organization, Chana District, Songkhla Province. Al-Nur Journal of Graduate School of Fatoni University, 8(15), 97-106.
Khamngae, S., Boonleaing, S., Bungchan, N., & Promsaka Na Sakolnakorn, T. (2014). Social welfare needs and policies for elderly people in Thailand: A case study in Pitsanulok community. Asian Social Science, 10(12), 142-148.
Kohler, P. (2015). Redistributive policies for sustainable development: Looking at the role of assets and equity. New York, United States: Department of Economics and Social Affairs, United Nations.
Kumhom, R. (2011). Social welfare and Thai society. Bangkok, Thailand: Faculty of Social Administration, Thammasat University.
Kumhom, R., & Sombat, L. (2018). Alternative social welfare model for older persons: Decreasing social inequality. Journal of Thai Interdisciplinary Research, 13(6), 44-54.
Martin, J. L., & Lee, M. (2015). Social structure (pp. 713-718). In James, D. W. (Ed.). International encyclopedia of the social & behavioral sciences (2nd eds.). Oxford, United Kingdom: Elsevier.
Needham, C. (2008). Realising the potential of co-production: Negotiating improvements in public services. Social Policy & Society, 7(2), 221-231.
Nontapattamadul, K. (2020). Productive and protective welfare for reducing inequality. Bangkok, Thailand: Thammasat University.
Pipatpen, M. (2017). Education for the elderly: A new educational dimension for the learning society of Thailand. International Journal of Behavioral Science, 12(1), 43-55.
Pokharel, T. R. (2019). Power approaches to policy-making. Nepal Commerce Campus Journal, 4(1), 171-180.
Pongboriboon, U. (2020). The elderly situation in Thailand: Health’s problems and needs. EAU Heritage Journal Social Science and Humanities, 10(2), 47-58.
Poolpatarachewin, J. (1986). Ethnographic Delphi futures research. Journal of Research Methodology, 1(2), 24-33.
Prasertrungruang, M., & Ayuwat, D. (2017). Structuration of capability: The node of interaction for capabilities enhancement. International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research, 15(22), 701-715.
Preprem, P. (2017). Affecting factors of social welfare for the elder policy implementation: Donyang Tambon administration organization Muang District Phetchaburi province. The Journal of Development Administration Research, 7(1), 65-75.
Satidporn, W., Thananithichot, S., Laiprakobsup, T., & Chorkaew, S. (2017). The creation of social justice through social welfare policy: The case study of the access to and acquiring benefits from the elderly allowance program. Journal of Thai Ombudsman, 24(1), 50-79.
Serban, M. (2015). Supporting public policy making through policy analysis and policy learning. Turin, Italy: European Training Foundation.
Sokdul, P. (2014). An evaluation of financial aid welfare for elderly project of Pra Kaew Sub-district administration organizative, Pachee district, Phranakhon Si Ayutthaya province. ARU Research Journal, 1(1), 22-29.
Sudsomboon, S. (2014). Social welfare for aging people in Thailand. Journal of Southern Technology, 7(1), 73-82.
Sudsomboon, S., Thammaporn, W., Puttasukkee, T., & Chaimay, P. (2016). Role of local government organization for elderly care. Journal of Southern Technology, 9(1), 121-127.
Taderera, H., & Madhekeni, A. (2012). Welfare pluralism in health: Assessing Zimbabwe’s policy response to HIV/AIDS with reference to Mbare Distrct, Harare. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 2(9), 186-195.
Tishman, F. M., Looy, S. V., & Bruyère, S. M. (2012). Employer strategies for responding to an aging workforce. New Jersey, United States: NTAR Leadership Center.
Wang, H. (2018). Continuing education of the elderly in China: Regional difference and family welfare promotion. Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, 238, 379-383.
Whangmahaporn, P., Simmonds, P., & Whangmahaporn, B. (2018). Factors affecting quality of life of the elderly in Thailand. Asian Political Science Review, 2(2), 79-87.
Ya-hui Lee. (2015). Older adult education: New public pedagogy in 21st century Taiwan. Australian Journal of Adult Learning, 55(3), 460-476.