福武　まゆみ    Department   Kawasaki college of Health Professions  ,    Position   Associate Professor
Article types	原著
Language	English
Peer review	Peer reviewed
Title	Relationship among independence of daily living, human　relationships, and preparation for bereavement among healthy elderly Japanese people
Journal	Formal name：Psychogeriatrics
Domestic / Foregin	Domestic
Volume, Issue, Page	20(4),pp.437-446
Author and coauthor	Mayumi FUkutake, Misako shimamura, Mineko Namba, Tetuya Ogino
Publication date	2020/07
Summary	Abstract Background: Given Japan’s rapidly ageing society, an increasing number of elderly people live in their communities with mutual support after the death of their spouse. The purpose of this study is to clarify the relationship among independence of daily living, human relationships, and preparation for bereavement. Methods: An anonymous, self-administered questionnaire was given to 864 community-dwelling elderly people aged 65 and older who attended an Elderly Citizens’ Welfare Study Group. A total of 404 responses (effective response ratio: 46.8%) were analyzed. Their mean SD age was 75.6 5.1 years. The purpose of the questionnaire was to obtain demographic information as well as information about three scales: independence of daily living, human relationships, and preparation for bereavement. The factor structure of the scales was studied by using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Structural equation modelling was used to investigate the relationship among independence of daily living, human relationships, and preparation for bereavement. This study’s protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Okayama Prefectural University. Results: Factor analysis indicated a three-factor second-order factor model for independence of daily living and human relationships and a one-factor model for preparation for bereavement. Structural equation modelling showed that independence of daily living was significantly correlated with human relationships (r = 0.261, P < 0.001), and human relationships was significantly correlated with preparation for bereavement (r = 0.295, P < 0.001). There was no significant direct correlation between the independence of daily living and preparation for bereavement. Conclusions: Encouraging elderly people to form good human relationships may help their preparation for bereavement. Further studies are required to determine whether this actually attenuates difficulties after bereavement.