HEALTH PROMOTION OF JAPANESE ELDERLY IN A SMALL RURAL COMMUNITY.

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This research project was conducted in an Ina Valley rural area, Nagano Prefecture, known for its population longevity and the lowest health care expenditure for the elderly in Japan. This may suggest that this area has many elderly people who stay healthy. The purpose of this research was to have an in-depth knowledge about those elderly people's life style, health habits, attitudes and behaviors to promote their healthy aging. The faculty of Nagano College of Nursing conducted the research in partnership with community health nurses. A total of 650 elderly people and 172 family caregivers living in this area participated in the project that included the following investigator-developed studies of health promotion : 1)Questionnaire survey of elderly people's health status, lifestyle and subjective feeling of happiness(n=165 elderly) ; 2)Interview about traditional health habits and behavior in the Ina Valley area (n= 141 elderly) ; 3)Questionnaire survey on factors contributing to healthy aging perceived by elderly people (n=319 elderly) ; 4)Questionnaire survey on elder parents' social role and end-of-life care perceived by female family caregivers (n=172 female family caregivers) ; 5)Bone density measurements(n=1O8 elderly) ; and 6)Group approach for elderly people. The findings showed that the elderly in this area had a higher health status perception as compared to any other Japanese elderly group reported in the literature. The elderly persons' subjective feelings of happiness demonstrated positive correlations with their health status perceptions and lifestyle behaviors such as frequency of laughing, stress reduction, and availability of social support. Factors contributing to healthy aging were identified and a healthy aging promotion model was developed.