Methods
To examine the preferences of older individuals, focus group
discussions were conducted in Nang Rong district during spring 2012. Focus groups can be used for a variety of purposes. We were interested not only in the preferences of the older persons,
but also in the extent to which they agreed with one another. The give-and-take of focus group discussion allows focus group members to listen and react to one another. In our case there was remarkable consensus and so we did not go on to individual qualitative interviews. People aged 60 and over are the target of national development plan as stated in the 2010 Thai Constitution.
Additionally, this age covers the definition of elderly people and retirement age (60 and 65 years old respectively) in many countries. Thus we recruited male and female participants aged
60 and over to take part in focus group discussions from 7 geographically dispersed villages in Nang Rong. The focus groups were held separately for men and women for a total of 14 focus
groups. As part of the discussion, the older persons were asked to rank their preferences by type of support and their feelings toward those care givers