Title: Discovering interesting relationships in the factors relating to the elderly living alone in Thailand using association analysis

Authors: Nichnan Kittiphattanabawon

Addresses: School of Informatics, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand

Abstract: Many countries are facing an aging society situation. The problem of the elderly living alone happens often, even in Thailand. This research aimed to discover the factors that reflect the elderly living alone. Association analysis techniques were employed to unearth all possible factor combinations. The measures, called support and confidence, were utilised to determine the strength of the discovered factors. Association rules have also been mined to reveal the relationship between the factors affecting the elderly living alone. The study sample consisted of 36,574 elderly living alone and was received from the National Statistical Office of Thailand. The study showed that the elderly living alone often does not need a caregiver if they have supportive family members, have public healthcare benefits, earn a living from a social security fund, and have amenities in the house. The primary discovery was that they can carry out a routine without assistance. Furthermore, most importantly, they are in good health.

Keywords: elderly; aloneness; Thailand; association analysis; association rules; interesting relationships.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIDS.2023.131544

International Journal of Information and Decision Sciences, 2023 Vol.15 No.2, pp.168 - 184

Received: 07 Apr 2021
Accepted: 06 Jan 2022
Published online: 19 Jun 2023 *

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