ENDLESS: International Journal of Futures Studies Vol.
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Overview of Elderly Knowledge About Self-Care at the Kayon Public Health Center in Palangka Raya City Helni Dea Siska1.
Anggrita Sari2.
Dian Purnama Putri3
1, 2, 3
Akademi Bidan.
Betang Asi Raya.
Palangka Raya.
Indonesia Email: adheahelniy02@gmail.
Abstract Self-care is an activity carried out by a person to maintain their health independently.
It aims to maintain health and encourage the development and prevention of disease.
This study aims to determine the description of elderly knowledge about self-care at the Kayon Community Health Center in Palangka Raya City.
This study uses a descriptive research type with an elderly population in the Kayon Community Health Center work area and the research sample uses a purposive sampling technique with a sample size of 55 elderly.
The study shows that respondents based on age are mostly aged 60-69 years with a total of 54 respondents .
18%), based on gender, they are dominated by men with a total of 30 respondents .
55%), based on marital status, the majority are married with a total of 49 respondents .
09%) and education is mostly in the tertiary category with a total of 31 respondents .
36%).
Based on knowledge, the majority of respondents had good knowledge of selfcare .
55%), respondents had sufficient knowledge .
%), and respondents had insufficient knowledge .
55%).
Overall, the elderly in this study had a good level of knowledge regarding self-care, which reflects an adequate understanding of how to maintain health in old age.
However, efforts are still needed to improve health education for elderly with sufficient and insufficient levels of knowledge to achieve an optimal quality of life.
Keywords: Elderly.
Knowledge.
Self-Care.
Public Health Center.
INTRODUCTION
Self-care is an activity carried out by individuals to maintain their health According to Cameron in (Anugrahtama, 2.
self-care is a process that involves individuals managing their health through skills and behaviors of prevention, treatment, and recovery.
In the elderly, self-care is important for maintaining health, well-being, and preventing disease because they are in a phase of life with a decline in physical, psychological, and social functions.
In Indonesia, according to (Kementrian Kesehatan Republik Indonesia, 2.
the elderly are grouped into pre-elderly .
Ae59 year.
, elderly .
Ae69 year.
, and high-risk elderly (Ou 70 year.
In 2024, the elderly will reach 12% of the Indonesian population, dominated by women and living in urban areas.
In Central Kalimantan, the number of elderly people reached 247,580 people or 8.
81 percent (Dinas Kesehatan Kota Palangka Raya, 2.
, indicating that this region is also entering a period of population aging.
Biological, psychological, and social changes in the elderly impact immune system decline, cognitive function, and the risk of various diseases such as hypercholesterolemia, osteoporosis, hypertension, and mental disorders (Putri, et al.
Antonia et al.
, 2.
Self-care is one of the important efforts to maintain the quality of life of the elderly, as Orem's concept (Wulandari, et al.
, 2.
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knowledge has been proven to help the elderly manage their health and prevent complications (Lestari.
, & Ramadhani, 2.
A preliminary study at the Kayon Community Health Center showed that six out of ten elderly people had low knowledge about self-care, and there were 120 elderly visits in the past two months.
These findings indicate limited understanding and practice of self-care, so this study is important to describe the level of knowledge of the elderly as a basis for more targeted health interventions.
Based on the background, this study formulates the problem regarding the description of elderly knowledge about self-care at the Kayon Community Health Center in Palangka Raya City in 2025, with the general objective of assessing the level of elderly knowledge and the specific objective of identifying sociodemographic characteristics and describing their knowledge about self-care.
This study is useful theoretically for the development of community midwifery and geriatric nursing through the application of Orem's theory, as well as practically for the author, educational institutions, community health centers, and the elderly in improving understanding, intervention planning, and quality of life.
The originality of the study is seen from its comparison with previous studies which, although examining selfcare in various contexts, have not specifically examined the description of elderly knowledge about self-care at the Kayon Community Health Center in the year of this study, so this study has novelty value.
In general, a person's knowledge is influenced by education, mass media or information, socio-cultural, economic, environmental, experience, and age, where education plays an important role in shaping intelligence and changing behavior (Achmad et al.
, 2.
According to Notoatmodjo in (Trisnawati & Fajarsari, 2.
, knowledge is part of behavior at the cognitive level which includes six levels:
knowing, understanding, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.
Knowledge measurement can be done through interviews or questionnaires to assess the material to be measured (Notoatmodjo, 2019 in Setiati et al.
, 2.
and the results are categorized as good .
-100%), sufficient .
-75%), and less (< 50%) (Nainggolan & Saragih, 2.
The meaning of elderly based on the 1998 Health Law No.
23 is a person who due to his age experiences biological, psychological and social changes that affect his life and health and is grouped into Pre-Elderly .
-59 year.
Elderly .
years and abov.
and High-Risk Elderly .
years and above with health problem.
The World Health Organization, as cited by (Siregar, 2.
, defines self-care as the ability of individuals, families, and communities to improve health, prevent disease, maintain health, and overcome illness and disability with or without the support of health professionals.
Self-care needs are general because they are related to life processes and the maintenance of human structure and function, influenced by factors such as age, gender, developmental status, social environment, family system, lifestyle, living environment, and the availability of support sources.
In the elderly, self-care plays a crucial role because it can maintain independence in daily activities, increase self-esteem and self-confidence, reduce dependence on others, and strengthen the ability to adapt to physical and psychological changes due to aging.
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Self-care also helps maintain the quality of life and mental health of the elderly, especially when facing changes in social roles, the loss of a partner, or loneliness.
METHOD
The research method used is descriptive with a quantitative approach.
With a total population of 120 elderly people at the Kayon Community Health Center who visited in June-July 2025.
Using a purposive sampling technique to determine the sample and the number of samples is 55 samples.
Data collection used a questionnaire with a total of 16 true and false statements.
After the data was collected, data analysis was carried out with the following stages: Editing.
Coding.
Scoring.
Data Entry.
Tabulating and Univariate Analysis.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Respondent Characteristics To illustrate the variation in levels of knowledge about self-care among older adults, a frequency distribution analysis is presented based on respondent characteristics, including age, gender, marital status, education level, and type of Details of this distribution can be seen in Table 1 below:
Table 1.
Distribution of Respondent Characteristics Characteristic Frequency Percentage (%) Age
60-69 Years 98,18 70-79 Years >80 Years 1,82 Total
Gender
Male
54,55
Female 45,45 Total
Marital status
Married 89,09 Not married/Widowed/Widower 10,91 Total
Education No school
Elementary school
5,45
Middle school
3,64
High school
34,55
College 56,36 Total Work Not Working 1,82 http://endless-journal.
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Retired Still Working Total
54,55
43,63
Source: Data Processing 2025 Based on the research results.
Table 1 describes the characteristics of respondents based on age, gender, marital status, education, and occupation.
The age range of 60-69 years dominates with 54 respondents or 98.
18% and the remaining aged > 80 amounted to 1 respondent or 1.
For male gender with 30 respondents or 55% and female 25 respondents or 45.
Based on marital status, the majority are married with a total of 49 respondents or 89.
09% and the rest are unmarried/widowed/widower with a total of 6 respondents or 10.
Meanwhile, for education, it is dominated by respondents with college education totaling 31 respondents or 56.
36%, high school totaling 19 respondents or 34.
55%, junior high school totaling 2 respondents or 3.
64% and elementary school totaling 3 respondents 45% and for employment, it is dominated by retirees with a total of 30 respondents 55%, still working with a total of 24 respondents or 43.
63% and not working 1 respondent or 1.
Frequency Distribution of Elderly Knowledge About Self-Care at Kayon Community Health Center To provide a more comprehensive understanding of the level of knowledge of self-care among older adults, the data collection results are then presented in the form of a frequency distribution.
This presentation aims to systematically depict the proportion of knowledge levels among each respondent, allowing for identification and a better understanding of the level of knowledge among older adults.
The details of this frequency distribution are shown in the following table.
Table 2.
Distribution of Respondents' Knowledge Scores Based on Categories:
Good.
Sufficient, and Poor
Knowledge Category Number of Respondents Percentage (%) Good
66,67
Enough Not enough 8,33 Total Source: Data Processing 2025 Based on the results of the study in table 2, it is known that the level of knowledge of the elderly about self-care at the Kayon Community Health Center is mostly in the category of good knowledge level with a total of 30 respondents or 55%, sufficient knowledge level with a total of 22 respondents or 40% and poor knowledge level with a total of 3 respondents or 5.
Based on the results of the study on the characteristics of respondents, it shows that the age group of 60Ae69 years dominates with 54 respondents .
18%), while the age of > 80 years is only 1 respondent .
82%).
Gender consists of 30 male respondents http://endless-journal.
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55%) and 25 female respondents .
45%).
In terms of marital status, the majority of respondents are married, namely 49 respondents .
09%), while 6 respondents .
91%) are unmarried/widowed/widower.
In terms of education, the majority of respondents have a college education of 31 respondents .
36%), followed by high school 19 respondents .
55%), junior high school 2 respondents .
64%) and elementary school 3 respondents .
45%).
Occupation is dominated by retirees as many as 30 respondents .
55%), respondents who are still working 24 respondents .
63%) and unemployed 1 respondent .
82%).
The composition of these characteristics indicates that the majority of respondents are early elderly who are still socially and physically active.
The male dominance indicates a fairly high level of male involvement in the study, while marital status indicates the presence of social support from partners that influences the wellbeing of the elderly.
The educational level of respondents, mostly university graduates, indicates good health literacy capacity.
according to Notoatmodjo .
, the higher a person's education, the easier it is for them to receive and process health information and apply it in their daily lives, including self-care practices.
Furthermore, the majority of respondents were retired, indicating they had completed their active work experience but still maintained certain social activities.
According to Notoatmodjo .
theory, work influences lifestyle, mindset, and a person's ability to manage daily activities independently.
Thus, the overall characteristics of the respondents reflect a relatively productive, educated, and socially supported group of older adults, potentially fostering positive behaviors in maintaining health and quality of life in old age.
The results of the study on the level of knowledge of the elderly regarding selfcare showed that it was dominated by the good category, namely 30 respondents .
55%), followed by the sufficient category with 22 respondents .
%) and the poor category with 3 respondents .
45%).
This finding indicates that the majority of elderly have a good understanding of self-care practices.
In Notoatmodjo .
, it is explained that good knowledge will influence a person's attitudes and actions in maintaining health.
In line with Orem's theory .
, self-care ability is greatly influenced by knowledge, experience, and motivation, so that elderly with good knowledge tend to be better able to meet their basic health needs.
This finding is also consistent with research by Putri et al, .
and Fitriani et al, .
which concluded that high knowledge is associated with more effective self-care behavior.
In the research instrument, the item with the highest score was the statement that self-care can practice clean and healthy living and create an appropriate appearance, with 48 respondents .
27%) answering correctly.
This indicates that the majority of elderly people understand the important role of self-care in maintaining cleanliness and health.
According to Notoatmodjo .
, knowledge is a dominant factor influencing health behavior.
In line with Orem's theory (Orem 2.
, the ability to perform self-care fulfills a basic need to maintain health and well-being.
This finding is supported by research by Sari, et al.
, which shows that elderly people http://endless-journal.
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with high knowledge about cleanliness and appearance have greater independence in daily activities.
Meanwhile, the item with the lowest score was a statement regarding the importance of fiber, vitamin, and mineral intake in the elderly's diet, which was answered correctly by only 35 respondents .
64%).
This indicates that nutritional aspects remain an area of knowledge that needs to be improved.
Elderly people need a balanced diet to prevent degenerative diseases and maintain body function, but limited understanding can result in inappropriate eating patterns.
In line with Notoatmodjo .
, knowledge is a predisposing factor that influences health behaviors, including eating behavior.
Research by Putri,et al .
also shows that some elderly people still do not understand the importance of consuming fiber and vegetables, so ongoing nutrition education is essential to improve understanding and practice of healthy eating patterns.
Based on the results of the discussion, the majority of elderly in the Kayon Community Health Center work area are aged 60Ae69 years .
18%), male .
55%),
09%), college educated .
36%), and retired .
55%), where these sociodemographic factors play a role as predisposing factors that influence self-care knowledge and behavior according to Lawrence Green .
and Notoatmodjo .
The level of knowledge of the elderly is in the good category .
55%), in line with Orem's theory .
that self-care ability is influenced by knowledge and motivation, although there is still sufficient knowledge .
%) and insufficient .
55%),
especially in the aspect of healthy eating patterns .
64%).
Thus, even though the level of knowledge of the elderly is good, increased health education and family support are still needed to strengthen independence and healthy living behavior.
CONCLUSION
The majority of respondents were elderly, aged 60Ae69, male, and predominantly married.
In terms of education, the majority of respondents had a college degree, indicating a relatively good level of education.
Meanwhile, in terms of occupation, the majority of respondents were retired, indicating that the majority were no longer actively working but were still socially productive.
Overall, the characteristics of the respondents indicated a group of elderly who were still in their early old age, had a college background, and were dominated by individuals with considerable work experience.
The majority of older adults have a good level of selfcare knowledge.
This indicates that most seniors understand how to properly care for themselves, although a small percentage still have sufficient and insufficient Therefore, efforts to improve health education for this group are needed.
REFERENCES