Investigation of Requirements for Living in a Local Community on an Isolated Island in Shimane Prefecture / 日本プライマリ・ケア連合学会誌

ABSTRACT

<p><b>Introduction: </b>To determine the requirement (s) that enables the elderly living on an isolated island to continue living on their familiar island. </p><p><b>Methods: </b>The annual reports on the internal migration in Japan derived from the basic resident registers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were organized. A questionnaire survey and interviews were conducted with members of the resident welfare division of the village office of Chibu Village, Oki-gun, Shimane Prefecture, and the answers were qualitatively analyzed.</p><p><b>Results: </b>A large number of persons of advanced age have moved out from Oki Island. The destinations have varied by year and included places outside Shimane Prefecture. There were no hospitalization facilities or nursing homes in Chibu Village. The only establishment that provided nursing services was the social welfare council. Available home care services were only home-visit care and visiting care. The most common place of death was hospitals outside the island. The communities were characterized by strong ties and mutual assistance among people in the neighborhood, which supported the lives of aged members.</p><p><b>Conclusions: </b>For persons of advanced age living on an isolated island to continue living in their familiar area, it was found necessary to improve the system for receiving people of advanced age who require nursing, and enhance the link between the government and residents to maintain mutual assistance activities among residents.</p>