What types of activities increase participation in community "salons"?

A simulation of allocation of participants engaging in group activities at community salons: Accessibility and self-stigma

Community salons are places where older adults receive preventive healthcare and enjoy recreational activities. In Japan, some older adults are reluctant to attend group activity programs at community salons because they do not want to be seen by their neighbors as being elderly who need support from others, even though those activities are meant to prevent functional decline. The phenomenon can be conceptualized as self-stigma of community salon participation, which is a factor explaining why older adults hesitate to participate and some opt for activities at facilities farther away. This paper proposes an allocation problem (considering both accessibility and self-stigma within a Japanese context), demonstrating that participants go to facilities that are farther away, not just those that are closest. The allocation problem is expected to provide local public health agencies with a normative model to assess participants' current allocation (compared with the solutions) and to simulate how best to facilitate older adults' participation or intergroup contact (between those with and without self-stigma). Solutions to the allocation problem are analyzed regarding activity participation, intergroup contact, and distance from participants' home to allocated facilities. Results from the simulation in a virtual city environment show that there could be a segregation of activity groups between people with and without self-stigma. From a comparison among solutions from different geographical settings of residents and facilities, people without self-stigma are less likely to sacrifice their accessibility to allocated facilities in the case of uneven distribution. On the other hand, a larger number of participants with self-stigma is expected, especially in the case of concentrated residential location. The findings suggest that policymakers should consider both the geographical distribution of residents and facilities, the impact of self-stigma, and intergroup contact when they discuss how the policies for older adults' social participation can best result in greater social benefits.

Perceived declining physical and cognitive fitness during the COVID-19 state of emergency among community-dwelling Japanese old-old adults

Aim

Perceived health status, including physical and cognitive fitness, will be negatively associated with future health conditions among old‐old adults. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic has caused sudden changes in lifestyle. Thus, this study examined the associations of participation in an exercise class before the COVID‐19 pandemic and the exercise habits and disruption to the rhythms of daily life during the COVID‐19 state of emergency with perceived declining physical and cognitive fitness among community‐dwelling old‐old adults.

Methods

In July 2020, we carried out a mail survey of community‐dwelling old‐old adults aged between 77 and 99 years in Bibai, Hokkaido, Japan, to determine their perceived declining physical and cognitive fitness during the COVID‐19 state of emergency.

Results

Of the 774 responders, 339 (43.8%) participants reported a decline in physical fitness, whereas 259 (33.5%) perceived declining cognitive fitness during the COVID‐19 state of emergency. In a multivariate logistic regression model adjusted for potential confounders, exercise habits during the COVID‐19 state of emergency were significantly associated with a lower perception of declining physical fitness. Disruption to the rhythms of daily life during the COVID‐19 state of emergency was significantly associated with a higher perception of declining physical and cognitive fitness.

Conclusions

Approximately half and more than one‐third of community‐dwelling old‐old adults perceived declining physical and cognitive fitness, respectively, during the COVID‐19 state of emergency. During this period, exercise habits were positively correlated with perceived health status among old‐old adults, whereas disruption to the rhythms of daily life was negatively correlated. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2021; 21: 364–369.

Social participation and physical prefrailty in older Japanese adults: The Shimane CoHRE study

As older adults in an early stage (prefrailty) of frailty may return to a healthy state, it is necessary to examine the prevention of prefrailty. In this context, the number and types of social participation activities associated with physical prefrailty in community-dwelling older adults have remained relatively unexplored. This cross-sectional study investigates this issue by analyzing 616 participants living in Okinoshima, Shimane, a rural area of Japan, in 2019. Frailty was assessed using the 5-item frailty phenotype (unintentional weight loss, self-reported exhaustion, weakness, slow walking speed, and low physical activity). Data on social participation were obtained using a questionnaire based on participants' level of involvement with volunteer groups, sports clubs/groups, neighborhood associations, religious organizations/groups, and community elderly salons; their answers were categorized as "yes" if they answered "several times per year or more" and "no" if they answered "never." Binominal logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of prefrailty by the number or types of social participation activities, adjusted for gender, age, body mass index, smoking, medication-taking, educational attainment, working status, and living arrangement. Of the 616 participants, 273 (44.3%) and 28 (4.5%) had prefrailty and frailty, respectively. The analysis showed that the number of social participation activities was significantly associated with lower odds of prefrailty (OR = 0.83; 95% CI, 0.74-0.94). Regarding the types of social participation, sports clubs/groups were associated with lower odds of prefrailty (OR = 0.47; 95% CI, 0.31-0.73). Participation in neighborhood associations was associated with prefrailty/frailty (OR = 0.57; 95% CI, 0.37-0.86). These results suggest that increasing the number of social participation activities or involvement in sports clubs/groups and neighborhood associations may be important to prevent physical prefrailty in the older population.