Lifestyle reconstruction of older men living alone in urban areas following the death of their wives

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K23208
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: 0908:Society medicine, nursing, and related fields
• Research Institution: Kanto Gakuin University
• Principal Investigator: Morizane Shino 関東学院大学, 看護学部, 准教授 (70583954)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-09-11 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 独居高齢男性者 / グリーフケア / グリーフワーク / 死別 / 団塊の世代

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The survey was mailed to home health care agencies that provide post-bereavement support in cities with populations of one million or more.Access to the target population was provided to men who were referred by the responding offices.Semi-structured interviews were conducted with three men in their 70s and 80s, based on an interview guide. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed by M-GTA. Late-olderly men [anxiety about the future in their daily lives] and [thinking about "death" after the death of their wives] were viewed positively in their future lives.Men in the last quarter of their lives [can handle some household chores on their own, even if they are not good at them].Men, especially after the baby-boom generation, are [not afraid to take on new challenges] and [strive to survive the grief after the death of their wives by daring to make a lot of plans].The three olderly men had one thing in common: they had jobs and were able to participate in society.

Free Research Field

在宅看護学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

団塊世代は、社会学の視座では、1970年代「ニューファミリー」と言われた戦前の世代とは違う価値観を持つ世代である。本研究で得られる知見は、世代の違う高齢者への関わり方や訪問看護経験の少ない看護師や若手世代の看護師にとって、訪問看護ケアの受け手の思いや希求に添って適切なケアを行い、対象者との関係性を構築することに資すると考える。高齢男性の配偶者との死別後の生活においての体験やグリーフワークがどのように進み、生活が再構築されたのかそのプロセスを明らかにすることでグリーフケアにおいて新たな知見を得られたり、都市部に暮らす独居の高齢男性の孤立化や孤独死予防の一助となりうる。