Proposal of a Method for Facilitating Social Contributions That Leverage the Strengths of the Elderly Requiring Long-Term Nursing Care

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K17516
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Gerontological nursing
• Research Institution: Okinawa Prefectural College of Nursing
• Principal Investigator: SUNAGAWA YUKARI 沖縄県立看護大学, 看護学部, 助教 (00588824)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: 要介護高齢者 / 社会貢献 / 支援

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The aims of this work were to carry out action research to facilitate social contributions that leverage the strengths of the elderly requiring long-term nursing care, and to propose a method of support that would enable these elderly people to be contributing members of society. The method for facilitating social contributions that leverages the strengths of the elderly requiring long-term nursing care is the following. The starting point was joint reflection on the elderly person’s own history, drawing out and accepting their pride and beliefs in order to create a long-term care relationship. Next, having gained an appreciation of the elderly person’s concerns, and while giving and receiving care to activate the elderly person’s caring potential, supporters highlighted the social contributions that the elderly person was earnestly making behind the scenes in order to share their values among the involved parties and to elicit a meaningful sense of purpose in life.

Free Research Field

老年看護学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

研究成果の意義は、要介護高齢者は社会貢献できる存在であるという立場から、社会貢献できるための支援方法を具体的に提示した点である。このことは、要介護高齢者の社会貢献が質的・量的に向上し、超高齢社会の資源の豊かさにつながると言える。また、要介護高齢者自身にとっても社会貢献を行うことを通してサクセスフル・エイジングの達成になると言える。