The practice of adult guardianship is regarded as a legal act of property management and taking physical custody of the ward. However, there are de facto acts that accompany these legal acts. In particular, an adult guardian having physical custody should attend to the lifestyle of the adult ward, determine, prepare, arrange, and contract the necessary support for living, and support the decision-making for the ward. Therefore, it is essential to meet with the ward and consult and coordinate with other parties concerned with the face-to-face care of the ward to implement this. As a result, the visitation ban due to the COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on adult guardianship activities. Social workers must review their interview techniques and guardianship skills under visitation restrictions as the pandemic continues. In addition, it is essential for social workers acting as adult guardians to collect information and protect the rights of their adult wards.

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This study investigated the influence of physical, social, and psychological factors on the quality of life (QOL) of older adults living in semi-marginal villages. We conducted multi-group structural equation modeling on data of older adults (N = 304) to test the model's validity. The results indicated that self-assessment of health had positive effects on younger-old and older-old adults’ life satisfaction mediated by the effects of social lifestyle and social communication. Moreover, loneliness had negative associations with younger-old and older-old adults’ life satisfaction. Self-assessment of health in younger-old adults had positive effects on life satisfaction mediated by the effects of psychological lifestyle. In contrast, self-assessment of health in older-old adults had positive effects on life satisfaction mediated by the effects of psychological lifestyle and social communication. These findings suggest the critical role of promoting self-assessment of health, social lifestyle, social communication, psychological lifestyle, and reducing loneliness in enhancing the QOL of older adults living in semi-marginal villages.

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This study examined the daily challenges limiting the lives of people with dementia who live alone at home. We conducted semi-structured interviews in February and March of 2019 with nine long-term care managers experienced in caring for people with dementia living alone at least once or within one year. We qualitative and descriptively analyzed 11 case studies. We interpreted the daily challenges of people with dementia as a crisis that threatened safety, declining self-management abilities, problems in daily life activities, vulnerable family relationships, and vulnerable relationships with friends and neighbors. The main challenge these people faced were the decline in their cognitive functions. In addition, vulnerable relationships with others, including family and neighbors, affected their independent home life. These results suggest the need to conduct qualitative research and develop indicators for understanding the obstacles facing people with dementia living alone.

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This study investigated bodily changes in persons with cerebral palsy over 60 years and how they confront these changes and accept changes in their environment. We interviewed 12 persons with cerebral palsy and used the Modified Grounded Theory Approach (M-GTA) to analyze the data. The results indicated that the narratives of persons with cerebral palsy generated 4 categories, 4 subcategories, and 11 concepts. The participants consciously confronted their bodily changes while receiving care. Moreover, they recognized the changes in their environment and accepted them to maintain their bodily functions. Their care included rehabilitation and medical treatment by professionals, family members, and caregivers. Persons with cerebral palsy over 60 years need to maintain their physical condition through regular medical treatment and following the advice of their rehabilitation specialists. However, they can experience severe changes in their lives due to secondary disorders and aging families. Consequently, persons with cerebral palsy must accept changes in their bodies, lives, and environment.

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This study investigated the relationship between organizational factors and autonomous work motivation among older Japanese workers. We hypothesized that organizational justice and organizational support are positively related, and role conflict and role ambiguity are negatively related to autonomous work motivation. The participants consisted of older employees working in seven corporations (N = 558, Mage = 62.00 years, SD = 1.35 years，men = 93.7% [n = 523], women = 4.3% [n = 24], unknown = 2.0% [n = 11]). Multiple regression analysis indicated that organizational support positively predicted autonomous motivations, and organizational justice positively predicted intrinsic, contribution, and self-fulfillment autonomous motivation. In contrast, role conflict was negatively associated with these variables. These results suggest that optimal interpersonal relationships in organizations promote older adults’ autonomous motivations. Therefore, we suggest that organizations foster environments where older workers can receive fair performance evaluations from their superiors and experience supportive relationships with the organization’s members.

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Participating in creative music activities has demonstrated efficacy in maintaining and improving the quality of the second half of life. At the same time, it is indicated that older adults with little music experience are hesitant to start learning actively.　We designed this research to develop a lesson program for older adults using a piano with an automatic accompaniment function and to demonstrate the program's potential experimentally. Older adults (N =6) participated in the program. The program consisted of eight lessons using a piano with an automatic accompaniment function. We assessed changes in the participants' moods and daily life using questionnaires. After completing the program, the results showed positive changes in the “activeness” of the mood and increased music activities and personal communications. These findings indicate the potential of pianos with an automatic accompaniment function as an effective tool for quickly improving the autonomy and the sense of capability of older adults.

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