Clarification of psychosocial factors required for continuance of life of elderly men living alone in heavy snowfall and underpopulated areas
- VernacularTitle:Clarification of psychosocial factors required for continuance of life of elderly men living alone in heavy snowfall and underpopulated areas
- Author:
Kimie FUJIKAWA
1
;
Yasuo TANAKA
2
Author Information
- Keywords: elderly over 80 years old; elderly men living alone; a heavy snowfall area; text mining
- From:Journal of Rural Medicine 2019;14(1):36-41
- CountryJapan
- Language:English
- Abstract: Purpose: The aim of this study was to clarify psychosocial factors supporting elderly men who were living alone in a heavy snowfall area where the population aging rate exceeded 40%.Methods: The authors conducted semi-structured interviews with six elderly men living alone. As the method of analysis, we conducted a hierarchical cluster analysis of the contents of the interviews via text mining.Results: As a result, we found the psychosocial factors supporting the elderly men living alone. We divided the factors into six categories: “well-planned roof snow removal”, “interaction with young people”, “realization of the meaning of life via driving”, “engagement in leisure and recreational activities”, “living a life aligned with personal preference” and “insistence on living alone”.Conclusion: Formal and informal networking that avoids debasing these psychosocial factors required for the continuance of living life alone is necessary.
