A study on item-seeking behavior and cognitive function during shopping

2024 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K02398
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 08030:Family and consumer sciences, and culture and living-related
• Research Institution: Kumamoto Health Science University (2023-2024); Nishikyushu University (2020-2022)
• Principal Investigator: Senba Lisa 熊本保健科学大学, 保健科学部, 准教授 (30826574)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 後藤 純信 国際医療福祉大学, 医学部, 教授 (30336028) ; 上城 憲司 西九州大学, リハビリテーション学部, 教授 (90454941) ; 井上 忠俊 平成医療短期大学, リハビリテーション学科, 講師 (60879782)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2025-03-31
• Keywords: 買い物 / 物品探索行為 / 地域在住高齢者

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The purpose of this study was to characterize the difficulties of elderly people when shopping and their search behavior for goods. 80 elderly people living in the community were surveyed. 13.8% experienced difficulties when shopping, with the main challenges being transportation, searching and selecting goods, forgetting, and carrying luggage. Horizontal placement was more efficient in the search experiment, and search time was related to attention, executive function, and life function. Gender differences were also observed, with men taking longer to search and women tending to have difficulties with daily functioning. It was suggested that support should take into consideration the placement and gender characteristics of the participants.

Free Research Field

地域支援

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は、高齢者の買い物時の困難に関する具体的要因と、認知機能・生活機能との関連を明らかにした点で学術的意義がある。特に商品配置の違いが探索行動に与える影響や性別による行動特性の差を定量的に示したことは、今後の高齢者研究や支援策立案に貢献する。また、買い物に関する困難の可視化により、店舗設計や地域支援、行政施策への応用可能性を示した点で社会的意義も大きい。本研究の結果から、高齢者の自立支援やQOL向上に資する実践的知見を提供することができた。