Health Perspective of Elderly Chinese Migrants in Japan:

Focus on Participants of Chinese Attracted Community Activities

Abstract

Purpose
To investigate the health perspectives regarding to self-rated health and health experiences of elderly Chinese migrants who were involved in Chinese attracted community activities in Japan.
Method
Participants were 13 elderly Chinese residents who were recruited in the Tokyo Area; individual semi-structured interviews and qualitative and inductive analyses were performed.
Results
From the results of the overall analysis, eight health perspectives were identified: (1) subjectively examining health according to physical and mental faculties; (2) feeling secure by living in a safe and amenity social environment; (3) feeling peaceful by accepting support from others to solve daily life issues; (4) keeping a positive frame of mind by accepting the realities of aging; (5) communicating and engaging with other Chinese residents, so that daily life is not restricted by the language barriers; (6) preferring to reside with family members and support each other; (7) feeling relieved to be able to access Japanese healthcare services successfully by themselves; and (8) independently using traditional Chinese medicine to manage health and keep fit.
Conclusion
We confirmed that late adulthood developmental tasks, Chinese culture, and language barriers affected the health perspectives of elderly Chinese migrants in Japan. Because the language barriers and continuity of the native culture influenced their security, health promotion, and expectation of later life, it is important to create an accommodating environment to resolve language barriers and provide care based on the cultural and health promotion standards that are familiar to elderly Chinese migrants.