Abstract
Objective : The purpose of this study was to clarify characteristics between participants and non-participants of prevention program of long-term care in a rural community, and to examine the appropriate support for the non-participants in the future. Methods : Subjects were 47 participants and 47 matched paired non-participants of the program in A community. The unsigned questionnaires consisted of basic demographic characteristics, physical, cognitive, and psychosocial status were conducted to the all subjects. Results : The mean age (SD) was 79.5 (6.8) years old in the participants and 82.0 (6.2) years old in the nonparticipants. The score of Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology Index in the nonparticipations group was significantly lower than the participations group (p < 0.001) and the instrumental independence (p = 0.02), intellectual activeness (p < 0.001), and social role (p = 0.07) in the nonparticipations group was lower than the participations group. The instrumental social support in the nonparticipations group was lower than the participations group (p = 0.09) and so on. The major motivation of the participants to join program is to develop a relationships with other persons, to heal their loneliness in their daily life and to prevent their possible dementia. Conclusion : In the non-participants in the elderly of the preventive approach in long term care were suggested to be lower in the intellectual activeness, social support and the frailty of life style than the participants. It was suggested that there might be frailty of the lifestyle and the interpersonal exchange in nonparticipants. The effective approach for the motivation of the program participation in the elderly should be examined in the future.
