The homebound factors and supports among older residents of a cold snowy region

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17H07037
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: Gerontological nursing
• Research Institution: University of Kochi
• Principal Investigator: Harada Keiko 高知県立大学, 看護学部, 助教 (20806062)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-08-25 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 積雪寒冷地 / 高齢者 / 閉じこもり予防 / 外出

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The aim of this study is to verify the effect of climate on the self-efficacy scale among the elderly with the focus on their homebound tendency.
To measure the relationship between the climate the homeboundedness, the study randomly selected the elderly residents in cold snowy region. The study measured two causal factors for homeboundedness (frequency of outing and enjoyment of outing) and their relationship to the elderly self-efficacy scale. The reasons for high self-efficacy elderly for going out during the snowy season included “grocery shopping” “meeting with friends” and “exercise”. Interestingly, during non-snowy days, the only factor related to frequency of outing high self-efficacy group was “grocery shopping”. Enjoyment of outing was related positively only in snowy season. The elderly with high self-efficacy reported they enjoyed “regular medical check-ups” “visiting administrative or financial offices” “Community events” or “Cleaning up the snow”.

Free Research Field

老年看護学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究の成果の学術的意義は，積雪寒冷地において高齢者の閉じこもりを予防するために，気候の違いに着目して外出の頻度と楽しみ度の実態を明らかにしたことである．対象者の生活環境に応じて，看護専門職としてどこに働きかけることができるかについて示唆を得ることができた．社会的意義は，高齢化が進む中，生活環境に応じた閉じこもり予防に対する社会的方策の示唆を得ることができたことである．看護専門職と地域社会が協働して高齢者の外出環境を整えることで，地域包括ケアシステムが目指す，高齢者の尊厳の保持と自立生活のための支援を受けながら，可能な限り住み慣れた地域で，自分らしい暮らしを続けるための知見につながる．