DEVELOPMENT OF A COMMUNITY SUPPORT SYSTEM BY ACTION RESEARCH TO SUPPORT THE ELDERLY IN FRAILTY

摘要

The population aging rate of A Marine City (5.8 ha/20,000 people), born 30 years ago in Japan, is 17.2%; 50.4% of which are 75 or older. (July, 2016) Yet, there is no support system for the people of the community that allow early intervention to prevent frailty. The purpose of this research is to prevent frailty of the elderly who live in A Marine City and to develop an early intervention system. This will be done through action research with nursing manager and certified nurse specialists in gerontological nursing as core members of the team. Clarification of the issues that the elderly of the area face, planning of educational campaigns of frailty, and post-implementation evaluation were repeated. We gradually called the clinic nurses and the local residents for participation. The activities in the first year included information exchange meetings among nurses, creating nursing information booklets, lecture meetings and questionnaire surveys. The investigation showed that the elderly in frail are unlikely able to take part in the community. The activities in the second year involved interviews to clinic nurses about the elderly in frail, cooperative projects between local residents and corporate members, and planning of events and creating leaflets to raise awareness of frail. In conclusion, it is necessary for this project to promote local awareness to create supportive communities for the elderly.