The educational support program for the children in a child welfare institution offered by the senior volunteers and its influence on their mental and physical health

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K01687
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Applied health science
• Research Institution: University of Hyogo
• Principal Investigator: Uchida Hayato 兵庫県立大学, 環境人間学部, 教授 (50213442)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 篠原 光児 兵庫県立大学, 環境人間学部, 教授 (00206111) ; 井上 靖子 兵庫県立大学, 環境人間学部, 教授 (00331679) ; 江口 善章 兵庫県立大学, 環境人間学部, 教授 (10249469)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 児童養護施設 / 児童 / 高齢者 / 教育支援 / ボランティア / 学校生活

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We discussed the educational support program supported by the senior volunteers for the children living in a child welfare institution and clarified its influence on their mental and physical health. Thirty-seven children (age range 6-13) who live in a child welfare institution in Hyogo Prefecture, the western part of Japan. In a longitudinal survey that we performed between February 2016 and November 2017, we inquired children about the effects of the program and their images of the elderly. The images of the elderly in the items such as “warm” significantly improved (P<0.05). The score of “support for friends” was also significantly improved in children living in the institution　(P<0.05). These findings suggested that the implementation of the program supported by the elderly possibly improves the institutionalized children’s images of the elderly including warm and the relationships between their friends and participants of this study.

Free Research Field

健康教育学