A survey conducted by the National Institute of Development Administration (Nida) found that the majority of elderly individuals surveyed in Thailand anticipate receiving care from their families.

The survey, which aimed to identify who should be responsible for caring for senior citizens, was conducted nationwide from March 14-17, among a sample of 1,310 individuals aged 60 and above.

The survey found that 53.1% of the respondents expect their families to take care of them; 41.9% want care to come from government organisations; 3.6% expect care from temples, foundations, associations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs); and 1.5% from private organisations.

Of those who prefer care from their family members, almost 36% want it from their eldest or second eldest daughters; 23.9% from their eldest or second eldest sons; and 19.1% from all their children.

Among those who expected care from the public sector, 84.8% wanted medical and treatment services. Of them, 85.1% said they had already used the public services, and 56.9% were satisfied with the services.

Concerning those seeking elderly care from the private sector, 65.7% said they expected medical and treatment services. However, 62.5% of them had never received services from this sector.

National Elderly Day, the first day of the Songkran festival, was yesterday.