RESUMO
Previous policies for prevention of functional disabilities leading to long-term care in Japan have mainly focused on an individual or a high-risk approach, which aim to prevent health problems by identifying high-risk individuals to target for education and intervention. However, since April 2015, the Japanese government has expanded the approach for preventive healthcare policies from a high-risk approach to a population-based community approach. Specifically, such policies aim to create an environment in which older individuals can easily participate in the society and enrich community- and individual-level social capital by participating in community places or groups. For example, older individuals living in a community area with high prevalence of participation in sports groups were less likely to be depressed or develop cognitive impairment, regardless if they actually participated of not. The purpose of this report is to describe how to administer the management cycle (e.g., plan-do-check-act cycle) to demonstrate the utility of community development in prevention of functional disabilities in older individuals. First, we visualize the issues faced by and resources available in local communities and determine the communities that require intervention on priority. After obtaining clues to the solution of community issues, the strategic deployment of intervention projects is needed. Subsequently, these interventions need to be evaluated for their effectiveness. Previous studies have reported that older individuals participating in such community groups were less likely to develop functional disability and cognitive impairment than those who did not participate. Future research must examine in detail the multi-faceted effect and efficacy of various community intervention programs.