2021 Volume 2021 Issue 31 Pages 614-622
In order to achieve healthy aging, it is important for even the elderly to actively participate in community activities. There have already been many studies on the participation of the elderly in community activities, but there have been few analyses focusing on the sociodemographic characteristics of individuals, and the regions have been limited. In this study, we examined the characteristics of elderly people who actively interact with local people and participate in community activities, based on the results of a web-based questionnaire survey conducted among residents in 13 cities across Japan. The results showed that in many of the interactions with others and community activities, there were marked differences depending on the gender of the residents, with women interacting on a daily basis. Men, on the other hand, participate in community activities with clearly defined roles and objectives, and interact with influential people in the community. There were no notable differences in community participation in terms of years of residence, employment status, or educational background. In order to promote community participation among the elderly in today's Japan, which is said to be in the era of 100 years of life, it is necessary to take these gender differences into consideration and use more effective methods.
