Effects and ripple effects of reducing nursing care certification and nursing care costs of frail prevention by the Silver Human Resource Center

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K18974
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 58030:Hygiene and public health-related: excluding laboratory approach
• Research Institution: Tokyo Metropolitan Geriatric Hospital and Institute of Gerontology
• Principal Investigator: Nofuji Yu 地方独立行政法人東京都健康長寿医療センター(東京都健康長寿医療センター研究所), 東京都健康長寿医療センター研究所, 研究員 (10626047)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: フレイル予防

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this study, we examined the extent to which the effort “members of the Silver Human Resource Center travel to various area to set up and run frailty prevention classes,” which has been implemented in Yabu City, Hyogo Prefecture, since 2014, reduces the participant's risk of functional disability and nursing care costs. This study also examined the feasibility of diffusing this model to other regions.
It was confirmed that the risk of new certification of requiring long-term care and accumulated cost of long-term care per eligible person were reduced by half for the class participants compared to non-participants. In addition, about half of the silver human resource centers in Saitama Prefecture have commercialized the operation of the frail prevention class, indicating the possibility of diffusing this model to other regions.

Free Research Field

公衆衛生

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

これまでに、介護予防を目的とした地域対策の評価研究は極めて少ない。養父市の取組は、まさに全国各地で進められている「住民運営の通いの場づくり」の好事例の一つであり、本研究は現行の施策の後ろ盾となるエビデンスをもたらしたという点で社会的意義が大きいと考えられる。
また、「研修を受けたシルバー人材センターの会員が仕事として教室を運営する」というモデルにより、介護予防活動の担い手不足を解消する上で、ボランティアの育成・組織化、民間事業者への委託に加わる新たな選択肢を提示したという点、健康づくりという新たな分野に高齢者就労の受け皿を広げたという点でも、本研究の意義は大きいと考えられる。