Health education and/or health promotion for the elderly

Abstract

Japan is becoming a super-aging society at a speed unprecedented in human history, and it is projected that the percentage of the country’s elderly population will continue to rise. This is exerting pressure on Japan’s social security system. Improving the social environment at the same time as mitigating the threats to the health of the elderly and increasing the number of healthy senior citizens are major challenges that must be tackled in order to address this situation. Until recently, improving the health of the elderly has tended to focus on restoring their functions. It is important to verify the efficacy of programs to improve the functions of small groups, and this will play an important role in the future. On the other hand, evidence has been reported in Japan that individual efforts alone do not determine people’s health. Examples of this include the health gap, in which the higher a person’s income and educational level, the better their health, and also the impact of childhood environments on the health of the elderly. For such reasons, it is vital to also consider social environment factors that promote better health. In addition, to develop health improvement programs that can be implemented in the field, it will be essential to accumulate scientific evidence on the usefulness and efficacy of health-improvement programs for larger groups.