2006 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Environment-Behavior Support for Improving the Quality of Life in Residential Facilities for the Elderly
| Project/Area Number |
16560543
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Town planning/Architectural planning
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| Research Institution | Maebashi Institute of Technology |
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Principal Investigator |
KOGA Toshie Maebashi Institute of Technology, Associate Professor, 工学部, 准教授 (10295454)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
YOKOYAMA Yurika The University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, Assistant Professor, 総合文化研究科, 助教 (20251324)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2004 – 2006
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| Keywords | Residential Facilities for the Elderly / Environment-Behavior Support / QOL / Living space / Possession / Sharing Room / Meal / 滞在時間 |
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| Research Abstract |
To ensure the quality of life (QOL) in residential facilities for the elderly, it is very important to create an environment that not only supports the diminishing physical capacity of each individual but that also helps each person live an active life. Our research examines environment-behavior support within the living space and the dining space.
Within the living space, our focus is on the "things" in the individual's environment. In a living space without many "things," the degree of dementia has a close relation to the amount of "things" in that space. As dementia becomes more severe, the individual will have fewer "things." Therefore, we can say that "things" have the role of supporting lifestyle activities. Having many "things" in the living space sustains a diversity of activities. In other words, enriching the living space with "things" not influenced by physical capacity or cognitive level can expand the individual's environment-behavior possibilities and lead to better QOL. F
… More
rom an examination of the activities of daily living (ADL) over time and the amount of "things" the individual possesses, we can see 1) how the amount of "things" may be influential on how long the individual stays healthy and 2) how gender may be important in relation to environment-behavior support.
For the quality of life in common spaces, we also examine places where individuals gather for interaction and the environment-behavior in the all-important dining space, where meals play the basic role of sustenance. We examine convenience characteristics such as how long the individual stands, sits, and stays in the dining space. From these characteristics we can study tendency differences in relation to ADL and the type of facility. In general, individuals with lower ADL remain longer in the dining space. These individuals tend to become passive, showing almost no variation in behavior. On the other hand, individuals with high ADL show great variation in behavior in the dining space. Looking at the type of facility, elderly patients in a group home show great variation in how long they stand, sit, and stay in the dining space. The behavior we observe here is much more diverse than that of a home for elderly people requiring special care. Our research also examines the "gyeongrodang" system for seniors in Korea. The "gyeongrodang" system can provide Japan with valuable clues on how to develop local support systems for enabling elderly people to live independent and healthy lives beginning from the basic environment-behavior related to food and diet. Less
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Research Products
(10 results)
