Research for individual and community-level factors with social isolation and solitary death among older adults

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26285138
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Partial Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Social welfare and social work studies
• Research Institution: Nihon Fukushi University
• Principal Investigator: SAITO Masashige 日本福祉大学, 社会福祉学部, 准教授 (70548768)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): NAGATA Yu 同志社大学, 社会福祉学部, 准教授 (90339599) ; HARASAWA Yuko 名古屋市立大学, 看護学部, 准教授 (70303774) ; OKUDA Yuko 日本福祉大学, 地域ケア研究推進センター, 主任研究員 (30469043) ; KUROKAWA Ayako 愛知淑徳大学, 福祉貢献学部, 准教授 (80511253) ; TAJIMA Kanae 日本福祉大学, 福祉経営学部, 助教 (60611217)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 高齢者 / 社会的孤立 / 孤立死 / 地域環境要因 / プログラム評価

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The purpose of this study was to confirm the characteristics of people that led to solitary death as result of social isolation, to evaluate community-based welfare programs for reduction of social isolation, to clarify community-level characteristics including social capital which is associated with social isolation. As the results, older people who denyed use of health and social work services, and was isolated from neighborhood had significant high risk for solitary death, rather than older adults who suffered from complex problems. Second, from program evaluation study, it was suggested that a befriending activity which was based on the applicants tends to exclude high risk people for social isolation. Third, we found that older adults who lived in community which has plentiful reciprocity tend to be not social isolation as contextual effect.

Free Research Field

社会科学