HEALTH PROMOTION OF JAPANESE ELDERLY IN A SMALL RURAL COMMUNITY.

该研究项目在长野县伊那谷农村地区进行，该地区以人口长寿和日本老年人医疗保健支出最低而闻名。这可能表明这个地区有许多保持健康的老年人。本研究旨在深入了解老年人的生活方式、健康习惯、态度和行为，以促进老年人的健康老龄化。长野护理学院的教师与社区保健护士合作进行了这项研究。本研究以650位老人及172位家庭照顾者为研究对象，进行以下健康促进研究：（1）问卷调查老人的健康状况、生活型态及主观幸福感（n = 165名老年人）; 2）关于Ina Valley地区传统卫生习惯和行为的访谈（n = 141）老年人对健康老龄化影响因素的问卷调查女性家庭照顾者对老年父母社会角色和临终关怀的认知（n = 172名女性家庭照顾者）; 5）骨密度测量（n = 108名老年人）;和6）老年人的分组方法。研究结果表明，在这个地区的老年人有更高的健康状况的看法相比，任何其他日本老年人群体的文献报道。老年人的主观幸福感与他们的健康状况感知和生活方式行为，如笑的频率，压力减轻和社会支持的可用性呈正相关。健康老龄化的因素进行了识别和健康老龄化促进模式的开发。

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.