Empirical Study on Social Capital and Life Satisfaction among Home-care Patients with Intractable Diseases and Their Families

Research Project

Project/Area Number	24593448
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Section	一般
Research Field	Community health/Gerontological nurisng
Research Institution	Niigata College of Nursing
Principal Investigator	HIRASAWA NORIKO 新潟県立看護大学, 看護学部, 教授 (60300092)
Research Collaborator	IIZUKA Toshiko
Project Period (FY)	2012-04-01 – 2018-03-31
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 2017)
Budget Amount *help	¥4,160,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥960,000) Fiscal Year 2016: ¥780,000 (Direct Cost: ¥600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥180,000) Fiscal Year 2015: ¥650,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥150,000) Fiscal Year 2014: ¥1,040,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥240,000) Fiscal Year 2013: ¥780,000 (Direct Cost: ¥600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥180,000) Fiscal Year 2012: ¥910,000 (Direct Cost: ¥700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥210,000)
Keywords	難病患者 / 家族 / 介護者 / ソーシャルキャピタル / 生活満足度 / 家族介護者 / 在宅難病患者 / 難病家族 / 地域看護
Outline of Final Research Achievements	A longitudinal study was conducted across 60 groups of patients with intractable diseases receiving treatment at home and with their family members serving as the primary caregivers to examine factors associated with social capital and life satisfaction. Life satisfaction was found to be associated with patients’ independence in daily life, subjective quality of life, and social capital. The number of caregiver convoys was associated with the number of long-term care insurance services used; therefore, it is possible that convoys encourage coping strategies among family members and improve their life satisfaction.