Japanese Journal of Health and Human Ecology

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The purpose of this study was to understand the perspectives of people with physical disabilities living in less-populated areas with regard to daily life, life philosophies and disabilities. We carried out this study in Nanmoku-mura, Gunma Prefecture and in Motegi-machi, Tochigi Prefecture. Twenty-seven persons cooperated in the research ; their average age was 68.0 years (range : 32-90 years).
The Ethnographic Interview was used in this study. We listened to their stories, coded their words, and repeated classification and unification of those words. Through the analysis, 17 Cover terms were selected : agriculture in life ; attachment to the land ; emotional affirmations to living in a less-populated area ; the conviction to maintain a lifestyle ; meanings to live ; growing old=longevity=aging of bodies ; strength based on experiences ; mind ruled by pessimistic feelings ; tradition and urbanization ; inconvenient lives and generosity-like evaluations ; old men and youths ; health and concern about health ; independence and loneliness ; old friends ; administrative supports ; sense of community ; and the function of the family. The 4 Domains that surfaced by further integration of these Cover terms were as follows :
1) Coexistence with nature
2) Growing old and living with disabilities
3) Consciousness of ambivalence
4) Mutual aid
Through an association of these 4 Domains, the Main theme ‘The society of the mature old age’ was derived.
Key words : health promotion, less-populated area, people with physical disabilities, life, quantitative study

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This study investigated living preferences during the care period in two small island villages with elderly nursing care facilities in Okinawa Prefecture and two comparably sized villages without such facilities and analyzed intergenerational differences regarding the availability of elderly nursing care facilities. Village residents older than 20 years of age were asked to complete a questionnaire and 417 responses were received.
Subjects were divided regarding to island group based on the availability of nursing facility care. To estimate the behavioral dimensions of subjects based on data similarities and mutual relationships, correlation axes for preferences about living on or off the island and with families or independently were extracted using Hayashi’s third method of quantification.
In the facility-available island group, living with family off the island was most common among elderly people, while most young and middle-aged people wanted to remain on the island, representing significant intergenerational differences. In contrast, in the facility-unavailable island group, living on the island was common in all generations.
These results indicate that living preferences during the care period for elderly people living on small isolated islands are influenced by the current state of nursing care for the elderly both on and off isolated islands.

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