Abstract
Abstract
Purpose: The physical, psychological, and social elements of health status for elderly dwellers of a local city were investigated to ascertain long-term health status changes and their causation.
Methods: Data from 2,520 returned self-reported questionnaires mailed to all 3,717 dwellers aged 60 years or over in a local city in March 1999 (recovery rate:67.8%) were input into a basic database. A follow-up questionnaire was sent to 1,796 individuals still living in the region in July 2009 and data from 1,070 respondents (1,070/1,796=59.6%) was analyzed. Covariance structure analysis was performed to determine any association of the three elements with dwellers' actual efforts toward healthy living, how they had changed over 10 years, and any causation between the elements and behaviors toward healthy living.
Results: Physical and psychological health status significantly deteriorated over the 10-year period, while social health status was maintained or improved. A causal structure model that started with “psychological health status in 1999”, via “physical health status in 2009” toward an endogenous variable “social health status in 2009” was revealed. The model fitting was good (NFI=0.977, CFI=0.990, TLI=0.981, and RMSEA=0.027).
Conclusion: Psychological health status serves as a foundation for social health status over the next 10years. Placing special emphasis on dwellers psychological health is an important duty of public health nurses to help dwellers lead a healthy life.
