Page 215 - The 10th Graduate Integrity Conference Proceeding

Abstract
Thailand is becoming a complete aged society in 2021, and some elder people hold on religion
as their spiritual anchor, so they tend to go to Buddhist temples regularly. The Temples is one of
significant public spaces for cultural tourism and religious activities that are suitable for the elderly. It is
necessary to take the visitors’ opinion into consideration in order to meet their behaviors and needs,
especially the elderly who are likely to visit temples more. However, the guidelines suggested by the
ministerial regulation do not cover the behaviors and the needs of elder people who do religious
activities in temple areas. The objectives of this research were to study about the appropriate physical
environment and facilities in temples for the elderly, to study about the elderly behaviors and needs
when they use the temple areas, and to suggest the improvement guidelines of appropriate physical
environment and facilities in temple areas for the elderly, in the case study of Samut Prakan province.
This research is a qualitative research. The data was collected by conducting a survey regarding
suitable physical environment and facilities in temple areas for the elderly. The case study included four
temples : 1) Wat Bang Phli Yai, 2) Wat Bang Phli Klang, 3) Wat Bang Chalong Nai, and 4) Wat King Kaew.
The behavioral data recording form was used during the field study by observing four elderly with three
types of physical impairment: mobility, hearing and visual impairment; and there were also ten elder
people visiting the temples.
According to the research results, the physical environment and facilities of the four temples
were still inappropriate for the elderly visiting the temples. For example, the parking lot was too far for
the elderly, and the only one ramp to the building was so steep that the elderly cannot control their
wheelchairs. Moreover, the signs for directions and places were not clear, as they were too small and
they were set up lower than the elderly eyesight level, which were incompatible with the standard size
and color stated by the ministerial regulation. Furthermore, there was no public restroom provided
specifically for the elderly. According to the interview with the elder people visiting these four temples,
they thought that the physical environment and facilities needed to be redesigned more appropriately,
and the suggestions are listed as follows: 1) The parking lot for the elderly should be provided near the
building entrance, 2) The entire ramp should be smooth with safety handrails along both sides, for height
and width, 3) The background of banners and signs should be painted white with blue texts or white texts
on blue background, and they should be posted in prominent positions, and 4) A large the restroom for
the elderly should be specious with safety handrails installed at the toilet bowl, and used non-slippery
materials for the floor. The additional suggestions apart from the ministerial regulation B.E. 2548 regarding
the facilities inside the building for people with physical impairment and the elderly were that the elderly
normally stand, take off their shoes, and sit on the floor for doing “Krap” or worshipping monks, and it
was difficult for them to get up. Therefore, there should be some chairs or specific places for sitting and
worshipping monks for the elderly and those who use wheelchairs. Moreover, the floor inside the building
should not be designed with different levels; if it is needed, there must be a warning sign or banner for
the sloping floor and the doorsill in front of the entrance. Finally, improve the distance between the
elderly and the Buddha image in order to allow the elderly to be able to place the gold leaf sheet on
sacred Buddha images easily as well as providing service to the elderly using wheelchairs.

Keywords: Temple, Elderly, Physical Environment, Facilities for Elderly

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