Living Conditions of the Solitary Elderly and Their Community Health Problems with Reference to Local Characteristics.
10.2185/jjrm.42.1061
- VernacularTitle:農村地域特性からみた独居老人の生活実態とコミュニティ・ヘルスの課題
- Author:
Tetsuhito FUKUSHIMA
;
Akio ISOBE
;
Nobumasa HOJO
;
Kuninori SHIWAKU
;
Yosuke YAMANE
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- From:Journal of the Japanese Association of Rural Medicine
1994;42(5):1061-1066
- CountryJapan
- Language:Japanese
-
Abstract:
To investigate the problems confronting the present health care system for the elderly in depopulated areas of Japan, we examined the living conditions of solitary aged people in two rural communities, Sada and Koryo, Shimane Prefecture, where the percentage of aged population is the highest among all the prefectures in Japan. Just as community characteristics ofthe two areas are different from each other, so are the features of the elderly's health needs.
Sada is a mountainous agricultural community, where the acreage of cultivated land per household is relatively large. As many families are composed of three generations, only a small number of aged people are living by themselves.
Koryo is a urbanized agricultural community on the outskirts of Izumo City. As the acreage of cultivated land per household is narrower, the average number of family members is smaller, and the percentage of the elderly, especially female, living alone is remarkable.
In Sada as well as Koryo the solitary life of the elderly mostly resulted from the death of their spouse. Their daily contact with their children is scarce, because most childrenlive in big cities far away from their parent's home. The rate of the solitary elderly whose children and their family will return home in future is 27.0% in Sada and 43.4% in Koryo.
Most of the social problems the solitary elderly face are derived from strained household economy. The rate of the elderly whose living expenses are less than 60, 000 yen a month is 41.2% in Sada and 31.6% in Koryo. As the economic resources of the solitary elderly are generally meager, the community should gear up to meet their economic needs.
