International Standalization of the Index of Mimamori Support of Older Adults Living in Communities among residents

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25671021
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Community health nursing
• Research Institution: Osaka City University
• Principal Investigator: Kono Ayumo 大阪市立大学, 大学院看護学研究科, 教授 (00313255)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): TADAKA Etsuko 横浜市立大学, 医学部, 教授 (30333727) ; KANAYA Yukiko 大阪市立大学, 大学院看護学研究科, 准教授 (00336611)
• Research Collaborator: KIM Jeung-im Soonchunhyang University, School of Nursing, Professor
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 地域高齢者 / 見守り / 住民ボランティア / 孤立予防 / 韓国 / 地域看護

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Neighborhood watch (“Mimamori”) program in which volunteers provide support for their elderly neighbors could be encouraged to prevent social isolation among older adults. The present study evaluates a newly adapted Korean version of the Japanese Index of Mimamori Support, a tool used for measuring programs designed to prevent social isolation of older adults through the use of community-based volunteers. After translating and adapting the index for Korean use, we surveyed 326 volunteers living the Seoul, Korea metro area who were involved in neighborhood watch programs. The results demonstrated that the Korean version of the measure had both internal consistency and construct validity. This suggests that the Korean adaptation of the index can be used to measure the impact of highly committed community volunteers on the social isolation of older adults living in their communities. We conclude that the Index of Mimamori Support is applicable to Korean community settings.

Free Research Field

地域看護学