2018 Volume 40 Issue 1 Pages 42-53
The aim of this study was to clarify factors related to participation in and continuation of a preventive care program for homebound older adults to establish effective measures to prevent homeboundness. We conducted focus group interviews with the participants in the preventive care program for homebound older adults and qualitatively analyzed the results.
The results showed that the participants originally had their own “backgrounds to consider participation” at the time of the program invitation, and “decisive factors for participation” prompted them to join the program. Even after joining the program, they continued to explore to find the meaning of participation balancing “information in favor of continuation” with “information in favor of discontinuation” and this exploration lasted until the program completion. It is thus evident that program participants feel unsure about whether or not they should participate when invited and whether to continue participation even after they have joined the program.
These results suggest that in conducting preventive care programs to support homebound older adults, we should give them personal support from the invitation till the completion.
