Development of a Scale for Assessing the Meaning of Participation in Care Prevention Group Activities Provided by Local Governments in Japan

Development of the Self-efficacy for Social Participation scale (SOSA) for community-dwelling older adults

BACKGROUND

Social participation is important for the health of older adults and super-aging societies. However, relatively few independent older adults in advanced countries actually participate in society, even though many of them have the capacity to do so. One possible reason for this could be a lack of self-efficacy for social participation. However, few scales have been developed to measure self-efficacy for social participation among community-dwelling independent older adults. Therefore, we developed the "Self-efficacy for Social Participation" scale (SOSA) to assess the self-efficacy of community-dwelling independent older adults, and examined the scale's reliability and validity.

METHODS

We distributed a self-administered mail survey to approximately 5,000 randomly selected independent older adults throughout Japan. The construct validity of the SOSA was determined using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Criterion-related validity was assessed using the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES) and according to subjective health status.

RESULTS

In total, 1,336 older adults responded to the survey. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses identified 12 items distributed among four factors: instrumental self-efficacy, managerial self-efficacy, interpersonal self-efficacy and cultural self-efficacy. The final model had a Cronbach's alpha of 0.90, goodness-of-fit index of 0.948, adjusted goodness-of-fit index of 0.915, comparative fit index of 0.952, and root mean square error of approximation of 0.078. Significant correlations existed between the SOSA score and GSES (r = 0.550, p < 0.01) and subjective health status (r = 0.384, p < 0.01) scores.

CONCLUSIONS

The SOSA showed sufficient reliability and validity to assess self-efficacy for social participation among older adults. This scale could aid efforts to improve the physical and mental health, and longevity, of older adults through increased behavioralizing social participation.

Psychological distress is affected by fear of COVID-19 via lifestyle disruption and leisure restriction among older adults in Japan: a cross-sectional study

Introduction

Engaging in social activities is an essential component of a healthy lifestyle for community-dwelling older adults. Critically, as with past disasters, there is concern about the effects of long-term activity restrictions due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on health of older adults. However, the precise associations between fear of COVID-19, lifestyle satisfaction, leisure activities, and psychological distress are unclear.

Objective

The purpose of this study was to comprehensively determine the associations between fear of COVID-19, lifestyle satisfaction, leisure engagement, and psychological distress among community-dwelling older adults in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Materials and methods

A questionnaire survey administered by mail was conducted from October 1 to October 15, 2021. The questionnaire included the Fear of COVID-19 Scale, the Lifestyle Satisfaction Scale, the Leisure Activity Scale for Contemporary Older Adults, and the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale-6. Based on previous studies, we developed a hypothetical model for the association between fear of COVID-19, lifestyle satisfaction, leisure engagement, and psychological distress and performed structural equation modeling to assess the relationships between these variables.

Results

Participants included 301 Japanese citizens (23.6% male, 76.4% female), with a mean age of 76.7 ± 4.58 years. Goodness-of-fit from structural equation modeling was generally good. Analysis of standardized coefficients revealed a significant positive relationship between fear of COVID-19 and psychological distress (β = 0.33, p < 0.001) and lifestyle satisfaction and leisure activities (β = 0.35, p < 0.001). We further observed a significant negative relationship between fear of COVID-19 and lifestyle satisfaction (β = -0.23, p < 0.001) and between leisure activities and psychological distress (β = -0.33, p < 0.001).

Conclusion

Fear of COVID-19 is significantly associated with psychological distress, both directly and via its effects on lifestyle satisfaction and leisure activities. That is, not only did fear of COVID-19 directly impact psychological distress of participants, it also affected psychological distress through lifestyle disruption and leisure restriction. This results may be used to better understand how a national emergency that substantially restricts daily life, such as COVID-19 or an earthquake disaster, can affect the psychological health and wellbeing of older, community-dwelling adults.

Relationships between locomotive and non-locomotive MVPA and 'ikigai' in older Japanese adults

Objective

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between physical activity (PA) of moderate to vigorous intensity (MVPA) and ikigai in older Japanese adults. We evaluated the amount of PA using an activity meter equipped with a three-axis accelerometer. The measured activities were classified into locomotive PA and non-locomotive PA to clarify not only the relationship between MVPA and ikigai, but the types of activities that lead to increased ikigai as well.

Methods

Participants were 86 community-dwelling older adult Japanese men and women. Measurement items included basic information (age, sex, BMI, and the number of underlying diseases), PA, Self-completed Occupational Performance Index (SOPI), and ikigai (the K-1 Scale). Confounding factors presumed to be related to ikigai were also elicited from previous studies. Associations of ikigai into three groups (high, middle, and low) with PA were analyzed by group comparisons and multivariate analyses.

Results

The comparison of PA indices among the high, middle, and low ikigai groups revealed that non-locomotive MVPA is significantly associated with ikigai (p < 0.05). In multiple comparisons, the low ikigai group was significantly and negatively affected by non-locomotive MVPA (p < 0.05) compared to the middle and high ikigai groups. Furthermore, in a multivariate analysis with ikigai as the dependent variable and sex, age, locomotive MVPA, and non-locomotive MVPA as independent variables, only non-locomotive MVPA (p < 0.05) was associated.

Discussion

These results suggest that non-locomotive MVPA is effective in enhancing ikigai.

Overlap of Physical, Cognitive, and Social Frailty Affects Ikigai in Community-Dwelling Japanese Older Adults

This study aimed to investigate whether the overlap of physical, cognitive, and social frailty affects Ikigai in community-dwelling Japanese older adults. Participants were 116 community-dwelling older adult Japanese men and women. Associations of physical, cognitive, and social frailty with falls, daily living assessment, and Ikigai were analyzed by group comparisons and multivariate analyses. Physical, cognitive, and social frailty were associated with the risk of falls and Ikigai. An increase in the number of frailty category overlaps was associated with an increased risk of falls and decrease in Ikigai. Multivariate analyses adjusted for confounding factors showed that physical and cognitive frailty were related to Ikigai. In conclusion Two or more overlapping numbers of physical, cognitive, and social frailty had adverse effects on Ikigai in community-dwelling Japanese older adults.

Predictors and Importance of Social Aspects in Ikigai among Older Women

Ikigai is a unique Japanese concept that encompasses not only joy and happiness, but also the purpose and meaning of life. The purpose of this study was to explore the factors that contribute to Ikigai, an important concept in the health of older women, and to clarify the relationship between Ikigai and the enhancement of the social aspects of their health. The participants in this longitudinal study, conducted between October 2017 and February 2020, were physically healthy older women aged 65 years and above (N = 132). Physical function and social activity were used as predictors of Ikigai. In addition, willingness for new interactions was used to examine the social aspects of health. A causal model was created from these factors, and path analysis was performed. The results demonstrated that participating in numerous interpersonal activities was predictive of increased Ikigai, but physical function was not. In addition, Ikigai was found to affect the willingness for new interactions. Further, Ikigai could be related to the willingness for new interactions. To enhance the social aspects of older women’s health, it is necessary to focus on Ikigai.