While more than 40 percent of elderly people in Taiwan consider themselves a burden to their family or society and more than 60 percent consider themselves unhealthy, fewer young people hold negative stereotypes of them, according to a survey by the Health and Promotion Administration (HPA).
The agency yesterday released its survey results on common stereotypes of the elderly (above 65 years old), which showed that elderly people have a more negative perception about their abilities and health condition than other age groups.
According to the survey, 68 percent of elderly people say they are capable of solving problems, while 44.3 percent consider themselves a burden to others, 48.3 percent view themselves as being unable to work and 61 percent think they are physically weak or often ill.
However, the overall attitude toward elderly people’s abilities and health conditions are not as negative as their self-perceptions, with a majority of young people aged between 15 and 29 holding positive views toward the elderly.
On average, 78.8 percent agreed that elderly people have the ability to solve problems, while 33.7 percent viewed them as physically weak or often ill, 22.7 percent considered them as having no working ability and only 20.8 percent thought they are a burden.
HPA Director-General Chiou Shu-ti (邱淑媞) said that “when the elderly reach a certain age, they might think ‘I’m old and useless’ or ‘I’m ill,’ but in fact society does not view them in this way.”
Although nearly 90 percent of elderly people are diagnosed with at least one chronic disease and about 50 percent have three types of chronic diseases, having a chronic disease does not equal to physical weakness, Chou said, adding that the elderly should break through negative stereotypes instead of underestimating themselves.
With the WHO promoting the concept of “active aging” in 2002, encouraging the elderly to take part in safe activities to enhance their health, the HPA also encourages them to attend group performance competitions held by the agency, she said.
A total of 1,951 teams composed of more than 82,000 elderly people participated in the competition last year, the agency said, adding that the competition is also being held this year.
The survey was conducted last year through telephone surveys of 24,624 people above 15 years old.
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 4:37pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 36.3km southeast of Chiayi County Hall at a depth of 10.4km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Changhua, Nantou and Penghu counties, the data
The Supreme Court today rejected an appeal filed by former Air Force officer Shih Chun-cheng (史濬程), convicted of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) espionage, finalizing his sentence at two years and two months for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法). His other ruling, a ten-month sentence for an additional contravention, was meanwhile overturned and sent to the Taichung branch of the High Court for retrial, the Supreme Court said today. Prosecutors have been notified as Shih is considered a flight risk. Shih was recruited by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intelligence officials after his retirement in 2008 and appointed as a supervisor
RSS