부산대학교 도서관

The aging population continues to increase worldwide. The proportion of the older adults population in Taiwan has exceeded 14% in 2018. Consequently, Taiwan has become an aging society. Therefore, the government and researchers need to pay attention to the living needs, the living conditions, living environments, and the needs for social support of older adults. The purpose of this research is to understand the status of active aging among the visually impaired older adults who live alone through the aspects of work, interest and learning, social participation, independence, safety and health, and environmental accessibility. In addition, this research also discusses the needs of the visually impaired elderly who live alone through the perspective of social support. This study utilized qualitative research methods to collect and analyze data. A total of 8 participants participated in the study. Four of them received one-on-one semi-structured interviews, whereas the remaining 4 attended the focus group. The results of this study found that the active aging status of the participants varied from person to person. When getting sufficient social support, the visually impaired elderly who live alone can achieve active aging status as they have good mobility, complete daily tasks, participate in social activities, and thereby achieve a positive status of active aging. The results of this study demonstrate the current status of active aging of the 8 visually impaired elderly who live alone and the social support they need. Finally, suggestions for practitioners and future studies were also presented.