Relationships between Community Consciousness and Health of the Middle-Aged in Rural Area / 日本農村医学会雑誌

ABSTRACT

【Objectives】A study was carried out to examine the relationships between community consciousness and the health of the middle-aged in a rural area, and to explore how to support their effort to promote health through behavioral modification.【Methods】A questionnaire survey was conducted on 2,336 people, aged 30-64, in town A. We received effective responses from 763 people (32.7% valid response rate). The investigative tool Self-administered questionnaires were sent out by asking them about their identity, community consciousness (attitude toward community, relationships with neighbors, social participation), physical health (health conditions, health behaviors, attitude toward health actions), and mental health (life satisfaction, depression). An analysis was made to find the relationship between the subjects’ attitude toward community and physical or mental health. In addition, we performed a multivariate analysis with physical health and mental health as the objective variables and the items, in which a significant difference was mainly observed in a univariate analysis, as the explanatory variables.【Results】Respondents with a higher score on the attitude toward community scale also had higher scores for health condition, health behaviors, and attitude toward health actions. Those people with higher scores on the attitude toward community scale had higher life satisfaction scores and lower depression scores.【Conclusion】These results revealed a close association between community consciousness and the health of the middle-aged in the rural area. It is necessary to interpret the assessment in consideration of the fact that in rural areas community consciousness is generally high and contributes to healthy support of the middle-aged.