Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Social support is an exchange of aids between at least two individuals which is perceived by the recipient, intended to enhance the well-being of the recipient. Evidence has shown social support moderates the effect of health-related strain on mental health in elderly. This study aims to examine the social support among elderly population in Malaysia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study addressing two major sub-scales; Social Interaction and Subjective Support towards selected socio-demographic variables. The instrument used to measure social support was 11-item DUKE Social Support Index (DSSI). RESULTS: There were 3959 respondents recruited into NHMS 2018. The prevalence for poor social support among elderly is 30.76% (95%CI: 27.24, 34.52). The overall estimated mean score for Social Interaction subscale is 8.35; 95%CI: 8.20, 8.51. Males had significantly higher estimated mean score (8.59; 95%CI: 8.39, 8.78) compared to females (8.13; 95%CI: 7.96, 8.31). The overall estimated mean score of Subjective Support sub-scale is 19.30; 95%CI: 19.11, 19.49. The highest estimated mean score was reported among those who has monthly income more than RM2000. Unmarried elderly and elderly with tertiary education achievement have highest mean scores for these two subscales. However, no significant difference in strata and occupation. DISCUSSION: The results showed that most elderly in Malaysia had inadequate network as well as low satisfaction towards their family, friends and community. Therefore, active participation and engagement with community is imperative to boost up social support and networking among elderly.
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@proceedings{APCPH-2019-230,
title = {Poor Social Support Among Elderly in Malaysia; Findings from NHMS 2018},
author = {Muhammad Faiz Mohd Hisham and Mohd Amierul Fikri Mahmud and Eida Nurhadzira Muhammad and Mohd Hazrin Hashim and Hasmah Mohamed Haris},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-07-22},
urldate = {2019-07-22},
journal = {6th Asia-Pacific Conference on Public Health 2019 Proceedings},
issue = {6},
abstract = {INTRODUCTION: Social support is an exchange of aids between at least two individuals which is perceived by the recipient, intended to enhance the well-being of the recipient. Evidence has shown social support moderates the effect of health-related strain on mental health in elderly. This study aims to examine the social support among elderly population in Malaysia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study addressing two major sub-scales; Social Interaction and Subjective Support towards selected socio-demographic variables. The instrument used to measure social support was 11-item DUKE Social Support Index (DSSI). RESULTS: There were 3959 respondents recruited into NHMS 2018. The prevalence for poor social support among elderly is 30.76% (95%CI: 27.24, 34.52). The overall estimated mean score for Social Interaction subscale is 8.35; 95%CI: 8.20, 8.51. Males had significantly higher estimated mean score (8.59; 95%CI: 8.39, 8.78) compared to females (8.13; 95%CI: 7.96, 8.31). The overall estimated mean score of Subjective Support sub-scale is 19.30; 95%CI: 19.11, 19.49. The highest estimated mean score was reported among those who has monthly income more than RM2000. Unmarried elderly and elderly with tertiary education achievement have highest mean scores for these two subscales. However, no significant difference in strata and occupation. DISCUSSION: The results showed that most elderly in Malaysia had inadequate network as well as low satisfaction towards their family, friends and community. Therefore, active participation and engagement with community is imperative to boost up social support and networking among elderly.},
note = {Type: POSTER PRESENTATION; Organisation: Centre of Communicable Disease Research, National Institute of Health, Ministry of Health},
keywords = {Elderly, networking, social support},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {proceedings}
}