The effect of social control and personal control on the functional health status of older adults in rural and urban Taiwan

The growing numbers and percentage of older adults place increasing demands on the public health system, as well as on medical and social services. As health care professionals, one of our main responsibilities is to discover concepts that effect health; social and personal control are two of those concepts.; The purpose of this study is to assess the relationship between social control/feelings of personal control and functional health status among older adults in rural and urban Taiwan. The Social Control on Health Practice and Psychological Distress model was used as the conceptual model and guiding framework for this study. This is a descriptive correlational study using a secondary data base. The data was collected as part of the Social Environment and Biomarkers of Aging Study (SEBAS), which included older adults age 60 years and older. The sample consisted of 814 participants. The statistical tests used to answer the seven research questions proposed by the model were Factorial Analysis of Variance and Multiple Regression. The most significant findings from this research included: (1) Location of residence has an influence on older adults' functional health status; (2) Older adults in urban areas of Taiwan were more likely to engage in positive health practices than older adults who lived in rural areas of Taiwan; (3) Both social control and personal control had significant effects on functional health status; (4) Both social control and personal control had significant effect on psychological distress; and (5) Personal control is the most important predictor of older adults' functional health status in Taiwan.