Do care activities by elderly people lead to an increased sense of purpose in life? / 日本プライマリ・ケア連合学会誌

ABSTRACT

<b>Introduction</b> This study aimed to clarify the relationship between the presence of someone to care for and the subjective QOL (quality of life) of local elderly people.<br><b>Methods</b> Data for 7,728 residents aged 65 and above was obtained from the everyday life sphere needs survey implemented by the government of Nanto City, Toyama Prefecture, between May to July, 2014. Multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the relationship between two sets of variables first, the presence (or absence) of “something to live for”, “sense of fulfillment”, and “self-esteem” as indicators of the respondents'subjective QOL ; and second, a set of explanatory variables (common to all models) including the presence of someone to care for, indicators of the personal attributes, health, and life style of the respondents.<br><b>Results</b> The presence of someone to care for was positively related to the presence of “something to live for,” “sense of fulfillment,” and “self-esteem,” which were indicators of subjective QOL, even after several indicators of personal attributes, health, and life style were accounted for.<br><b>Conclusion</b> Promoting mutual help in local areas has a positive significance for those elderly who take care of others, as well as for those who accept care. The results also suggest the social importance of being the recipient of care in the elderly.