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Perception of Aging and Quality of Life in Modern Japanese Community
Author(s) -
Hattori Keiko,
Matsuda Masako,
Yoneda Junko
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
nursing and health sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.563
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1442-2018
pISSN - 1441-0745
DOI - 10.1046/j.1442-2018.2002.01140_11.x
Subject(s) - vitality , quality of life (healthcare) , gerontology , perception , population , medicine , mental health , government (linguistics) , population ageing , demography , psychology , environmental health , nursing , psychiatry , philosophy , linguistics , theology , neuroscience , sociology
The number of aged people in Japan has risen dramatically. There were 21 million elderly people in 1999, which accounted for 16.7% of the population. By comparison, the number of juveniles (0–14 years) has decreased by 316 000 annually and the working population (15–64 years) has decreased by 160 000 annually. It is estimated that 25% of the population in Japan will be over 65 years of age by 2020. Although the Japanese government has taken new measures (i.e. nursing care insurance) to address this rapid increase of elderly people, the rising number of aged has been perceived, by the younger generation, as being overwhelming. This study examined the modern Japanese perception of aging and quality of life (QOL). A semistructured interview was done with 22 healthy adults. Three men and three women were randomly selected from four age groups: 40–49 years, 50–59 years, 60–69 years, and 70 years and over. Keyword s were abstracted by way of interviews. The Short Form‐36 Health Survey (SF‐36) was used to assess QOL. The SF‐36 contains 36 questions that measure the health status for the eight parameters: physical functioning, mental health, role‐physical, role‐emotional, bodily pain, general health perception, vitality, and social functioning.