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Home visits by commissioned welfare volunteers and psychological distress: a population-based study of 11,312 community-dwelling older people in Japan
- Authors:
- NOGUCHI Masayuki, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 30(12), 2015, pp.1156-1163.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Objective: Social support is a resource for the older people that effectively reduces psychological distress, with or without specialised health service provision. This cross-sectional study was conducted to determine whether home visits by commissioned welfare volunteers (organisations of community residents assigned by national or local governments) are associated with a lower risk of psychological distress among the older people. Methods: Questionnaires were sent in August 2010 to all residents aged ≥65 years in three municipalities (n = 21,232) in Okayama Prefecture in Japan; 13,929 were returned (response rate = 65.6%). The final sample size for the analysis was 11,312 participants. Home visits, psychological distress (Kessler Psychological Distress Scale: K6 > 5), and severe psychological distress (K6 > 13) were measured by the questionnaire. Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for psychological distress, adjusting for age, gender, education, marital status, and qualification for long-term care insurance. Results: The prevalence was 41.4% for psychological distress and 6.5% for severe psychological distress among all participants. Home visits were significantly associated with a lower risk of psychological distress after adjusting for the covariates. These associations were comparable for men and women. The association was clearer for severe psychological distress. Conclusions: Home visits by commissioned welfare volunteers are significantly associated with a lower risk of psychological distress among older people (Edited publisher abstract)
Looking to the long term: the Japanese approach
- Author:
- CURRY Natasha
- Publisher:
- Nuffield Trust
- Publication year:
- 2017
- Place of publication:
- London
This briefing highlights two examples of preventative service from Japan which provide low level support to older people before their health deteriorates. The “Ten Million House” is run by volunteers and provides an informal meeting space for older people and activities. It aims to connect older people who are at risk of becoming isolated before their health deteriorates, providing them with an informal network they can rely on when their care needs increase. The ‘Dream Lake Village’ day centre provides low-level care to older people who live at home but who need some help with daily activities. It has been designed to increase users’ independence and prevent their decline. The examples show how, instead of waiting for those people to deteriorate to the point where they need care, the Japanese Government is encouraging municipal governments to invest in community facilities, volunteering and social support networks. (Edited publisher abstract)
Senior volunteerism in Japan: a policy perspective
- Author:
- CHEN Li-Mei
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing International, 38(2), 2013, pp.97-109.
- Publisher:
- Springer
- Place of publication:
- New York
This paper will discuss the development of Japan’s older adult volunteerism and how today’s older adult volunteerism needs to change in the face of a super-aging society coupled with changing social and economic needs. How Japanese organisations and communities can promote and sustain senior volunteerism will be examined in terms of four aspects of institutional capacity: access, information, incentives, and facilitation. The paper suggests that senior volunteerism is necessary for Japan’s aging society to provide meaning in later life, and sustain good health and well-being. However, to encourage volunteerism among aging baby-boomers, Japan needs to alter its traditional approaches, such as its top-down approach to organising volunteerism and its focus on moral citizenship. With unique lives and experiences, the largely middle class baby-boomer generation will probably seek an experience of older adulthood different than that of their predecessors. Social work in Japan needs to expand its professional boundaries beyond poverty work to support the diverse needs of the aging population. (Publisher abstract)
Variations in older people's social and productive ageing activities across different social welfare regimes
- Authors:
- WARBURTON Jeni, GRASSMAN Eve Jeppsson
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Social Welfare, 20(2), April 2011, pp.180-191.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This study explores voluntary association involvement by older people using a six-regime model with Esping-Andersen's three worlds of welfare as a starting point. Current literature is then used to argue for the inclusion of three additional regime types. The model, with its six illustrative countries, is then used to compare type and level of voluntary association membership and volunteering by older people. The first set of findings is a descriptive account of the context of ageing and social welfare in the six countries and the relationship between this context and volunteering by older people. The second set of findings uses a broad comparative dataset, the World Values Survey (2005–2006), to explore differences in voluntary association involvement more specifically. The analyses suggest that differences across regime types are explainable in terms of the social welfare context. These findings suggest a possible line of approach to understanding differences across countries.
REPRINTS: Effects of an intergenerational health promotion program for older adults in Japan
- Authors:
- FUJIWARA Yoshinori, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, 7(1), March 2010, pp.17-39.
- Publisher:
- Routledge
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia
It is argued that rather than focusing on the economic burden that may fall on the younger generation because of the expected growth in demand for welfare and health care among the older generations, Japan should be prioritising the social participation of older adults for the benefit of society as a whole. This article describes one such intervention research project, REPRINTS (REsearch of PRoductivity by INTtegrated Sympathy), in which senior volunteers read picture books to children. Sixty-nine volunteers and 72 controls, all aged 60 years and over, living in three urban locations, underwent a baseline health check. After completion of a three-month training seminar, volunteers visited public elementary schools and kindergartens in groups of 6 to 10 for an 18 month period. They were assessed by a follow-up health check. Social network scores (frequency of contact with grandchildren and others around the neighbourhood) and self-rated health improved or was maintained at a significantly higher rate for the 37 individuals volunteering most intensively compared to those who did not volunteer or volunteered minimally. Some effects were also seen on physical performance but these attenuated over the latter part of the study, possibly because both groups were healthy and active at baseline. The authors suggest this warrants further study.
A consumer cooperative association specializing in services for the elderly
- Author:
- OKA Masato
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Aging and Social Policy, 14(3/4), 2002, pp.211-231.
- Publisher:
- Routledge
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Over the past 10 years, a Japanese cooperative association named Fukushi Club Seikyo (FCS) has developed a unique, non-profit business specializing in services for the elderly. It aims to promote a reciprocal support system among neighborhood community members. FCS has successively organized its active members, mainly homemakers, into workers' collectives and successfully provided various life support services at a very small charge. Their human-touch service appears in sharp contrast to bureaucratic public services and profit-making private services. The civil initiative presented by FCS suggests a potential for a community-based social service system that may guarantee quality services without raising taxes and premiums for social insurance. (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street Binghamton, NY 13904-1580)
The study of the elderly volunteer
- Author:
- HAGIWARA Yasou
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Social Policy and Social Work, 1, March 1997, pp.41-50.
- Publisher:
- Japan College of Social Work
In Japan, the older person is supposed to be given assistance by others but is not viewed as a person who actively participates in social activities. This article analyses the activities of older people in Japan by examining their volunteering activities.
Volunteering among Japanese older adults: how are hours of paid work and unpaid work for family associated with volunteer participation?
- Authors:
- KOBAYASHI Erika, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 39(11), 2019, pp.2420-2442.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
As the population ages, older adults are increasingly expected to play multiple productive roles. This study examined how hours of paid or unpaid work were associated with volunteering among older Japanese. Data came from the 2012 National Survey of the Japanese Elderly, a nationwide survey of Japanese aged 60 and older (N = 1,324). The researchers performed multinominal logistic regression analyses to predict volunteering (regular or occasional versus non-volunteer) based on hours of paid work and unpaid work for family consisting of sick/disabled care, grandchild care and household chores. Those who worked moderate hours were most likely to be a regular volunteer while working 150 hours or more per month had a lower probability of volunteering, regardless of whether the work was paid or unpaid. Thus, full-time level work competed with volunteering for both paid and unpaid work for family, but it was more so for paid work. By types of activities, doing household chores and substantial grandchild care were positively associated with volunteering, and the latter complementary relationship was explained by a larger community network among grandparents. The findings indicate that delaying retirement from full-time paid work may reduce the supply of regular volunteers in the community. Thus, policies to increase part-time work for older adults as well as the types of volunteer work in which paid workers can participate are necessary. (Edited publisher abstract)
The Japanese voluntary sector’ s responses to the increasing unmet demand for home care from an ageing population
- Author:
- HAYASHI Mayumi
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 36(3), 2016, pp.508-533.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
As Japan faces the challenge of the increasing demand for home care from its ageing population in an era of economic constraints, the expectation has evolved that the voluntary sector will fill the shortfall in statutory provision through semi-volunteers providing affordable home care. Drawing on qualitative interviews with managers from 15 voluntary organisations, this article explores their experiences in trying to meet this expectation. Even though most organisations provided supplementary home-care services, the empirical evidence indicates a limited capacity to deliver this expectation, with respondents aware of the deteriorating situation. It has been ascertained that supply mechanisms differ between the traditional voluntary – and the new hybrid – organisations. The former employ ‘cost-efficient’ labour such as ‘paid volunteers’ on below minimum pay rates. In contrast, the ‘hybrids’ use paid employees at regular pay rates, a finding that contradicts optimistic assumptions about the ideological role of ‘traditional’ voluntary organisations. This article suggests the importance of acknowledging diverse responses from the voluntary sector, including the new hybrids with their acknowledgement of voluntary and commercial imperatives. Open mindedness and a preparedness to revise interpretations of the earlier ‘models’ of the voluntary sector are essential. The conclusion proposes that the best strategy to unlock the voluntary sector's full potential to deliver supplementary home care is a multi-platformed approach, with adequate public purse funding, which pragmatically maximises resources. (Publisher abstract)
Aging in urban Japan – intergenerational reading in Tokyo
- Author:
- BACHMANN Inger Maleen
- Journal article citation:
- Working with Older People, 18(1), 2014, pp.24-29.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to introduce a volunteer network from the Tokyo Metropolitan area that addresses the urge for senior citizens to stay mentally active and provide a possibility for them to participate in intergenerational contact as to feel included and useful to society. Design/methodology/approach: The research derives from literature review, local government documents and online presentation as well as an interview that has been conducted by the Tokyo senior information site. Findings: The REPRINTS (Research of Productivity by Intergenerational Sympathy) network in Tokyo is but one answer that combines a mentally challenging activity with intergenerational contact. The network presents an easy to reach and easy to implement diversion for schools to enable children to experience the traditional form of storytelling and help senior citizens to feel challenged and needed. Practical implications: Learning from the experience of the REPRINTS network could help to set up similar activities in other communities that deal with the same problems and are seeking ways to include senior citizens, help them stay active and useful for the community and encourage intergenerational contact. Originality/value: Japan is one of the forerunners when it comes to aging population. Yet, most research still focusses on the challenges, care and especially problems that occur in dying rural areas. This paper instead tries to take a more positive look to the future and concentrates on urban life and its context. (Publisher abstract)