ABSTRACT
<b>Objective</b> : Although current preventative care policies consider the issue of the homebound elderly to be important, effective means of intervention have not been established. Therefore, it is necessary to elucidate the relevant causes of the poorly understood “homebound” problem. As little expertise exists on the social and psychological factors of those who are homebound, this study focuses on the sense of coherence (SOC) —a new estimate of the psychosocial factors involved in being homebound—and examines the connection between being homebound and SOC.<br><b>Methods</b> : A mail survey was conducted among 1,895 elderly adults, none of whom had been issued a Certification of Long-Term Care Need. Survey items included basic attributes, physical characteristics, psychological and socioenvironmental characteristics, and the condition of being homebound. Furthermore, SOC was investigated as part of the psychosocial and environmental evaluation. The 853 respondents chosen for the analysis were divided into three groups depending on their level of homeboundedness, and an ordered logistic regression analysis was conducted using homeboundedness as the dependent variable.<br><b>Results</b> : The following items were found to have a significant association with homeboundedness : age, sex, low motor function, depressive tendencies, low SOC, and the low TMIG Index of Competence.<br><b>Discussion</b> : This study identified a relation between being homebound and SOC, suggesting that in addition to interventions for depression and motor function, new SOC focused aid must be considered in the prevention of homeboundedness.
ABSTRACT
<b>Objective</b> : It is not known whether residents in geriatric facilities are satisfied with the rehabilitation they receive. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between their satisfaction with facility services and their satisfaction with the rehabilitation they receive in geriatric facilities. An additional aim was to identify the factors related to customer satisfaction with rehabilitation.<br><b>Methods</b> : One hundred residents in 19 geriatric facilities participated in this study. After obtaining informed consent from the residents, we conducted semi-structured interviews which included scales for facility services satisfaction, customer satisfaction with rehabilitation, and the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). The characteristics and conditions of the residents were investigated by interviewing the facilities' staff. For statistical analysis, we used Spearman's, rank correlation test, and multiple regression analysis.<br><b>Results</b> : Sixty-seven percent of the subjects were women, and the mean age (±SD) was 78.2±10.4 years. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the total customer satisfaction with rehabilitation score was associated with facility service satisfaction (β=0.232, p<0.05). Significant associations were also observed with “female”(β=0.198, p<0.05), “support counselors” (β=0.269, p<0.01), and “GDS” score (β=-0.291, P< 0.01). Customer satisfaction with rehabilitation was associated with “age” (β=-0.296, p<0.01), “BI” (β=0.261, p<0.01), “satisfaction with rehabilitation time” (β=0.254, p<0.01), “satisfaction with the training environment” (β=0.206, p<0.05), “toilet training” (β=0.210, p<0.05), “bathing training” (β=-0.252, p<0.01), and “GDS” score (β=-0.258, p<0.01).<br><b>Conclusion</b> : Customer satisfaction with rehabilitation was significantly associated with facility service satisfaction in geriatric facilities.<br>These data suggest that rehabilitation is an important service in geriatric facilities, and supplying a sufficient number of hours of rehabilitation and having adequate facilities for rehabilitation were important for improving satisfaction with rehabilitation services in geriatric facilities.