老年社區健康活動參與經驗之質性研究：以性別觀點切入

Abstract

本研究以性別視角對老人社區活動之經驗進行初探分析，主要著重於性別與相關社會結構對老人社會參與的影響，從其參與／不參與社區活動之經驗探究為何老年男性經常在社區活動中缺席？是否真是代表老年男性的被動？另外，女性參與程度高的現象，是否真的代表了女性老年的優勢？或是說他們的參與經驗也可能被某些性別規範影響？為回答這些問題，研究者初期於內湖石頭湯擔任協助健康促進活動之實習生，在此募集願受訪者，而後再以滾雪球方式向外招募。 研究結果發現老年社區參與的確深受性別角色影響，對老年男性來說，生活的規劃與對社會參與的看法受其對男子氣概的想像、性別角色的認同及社經地位等社會規範的影響，因而社區健康活動往往並非優先選項；另一方面，對於老年女性而言，女性看似活躍於社區場域，但傳統的家務與照顧責任，仍在女性參與社區活動時發揮其規範性作用。而社區作為我國重要的照顧場域，應關注其性別化的現象，並以此理解老年男性與女性在社區參與的表現，試圖在活動規畫與設計方面加入此一思考。

This study is to analyze the experience of the elderly in health promotion activities based on gender perspectives. It analyzes the impact of gender-related social structure on the social participation of the elderly. The major research site is in Neihu Stone Soup, a community-based service center for elderly care in Taipei. This institute holds regular health promotion activities. Researcher conducts observation in this field and recruits interviewees. For accessing diverse experiences, researcher also recruits interviews outside Neihu Stone Soup through snow-ball method. The study found that the experiences of the elderly in community participation is significantly affected by gender. In the case of elder men, their imagination of masculinity affects the choice and feelings to social participation. In contrast, although older women are active in community activities, traditional housework and Caregiving responsibilities still play a normative role in women. Community is an important field regarding long-term care. How community participant experiences are gendered should receive more attention. With gender sensibility, differences between male and female elders can be better understood, and more effective community-based health promotion programs can be developed accordingly.