2006 Volume 10 Issue 1 Pages 29-38
The current study examined factors related to satisfaction of the intention to participate in social activities among the elderly in a rural area. Data of 502 persons aged 65 years and over were obtained from a mail survey in a rural area. Two types of social activities such as social group activities and hobbies were measured. The authors compared the elderly in two groups: participants in social activities who had intended to participate, and non-participants who had intended to participate. Logistic regression analyses revealed the following results:
(1) The characteristics of non-participants who intended to participate in social group activities had poor IADL and more depressed score than participants who intended to participate.
(2) The characteristics of non-participants who intended to participate in hobbies were younger, female, poor IADL, more depressed score, and lower satisfaction score of the transportation.
The elderly who had a low score on IADL and high score on depression tended to have unmet needs for social activities, and those who reach a certain score on these indexes were likely to increase rapidly the rate of unmet needs for social activities.
The findings suggest that a profession should carefully assess the IADL and depressed score of the elderly in order to meet the needs of the elderly for social activities.
