Civic engagement and well-being in Japan:

The role of peer support and volunteering

in healthy aging and longevity

Tokie Anme, Ph.D

University of Tsukuba

The Essence of Positive Aging

Peer support and volunteerig!

Purpose

The presentation focused on a community

program to clarify the importance of

peer support and volunteering for civic

empowerment.

Silver Human Resources Center

It aims to create dynamic communities and

to support meaningful and fulfilling

lifestyles for older persons through the

provision of appropriate work opportunities

for people generally age 60 or over who

desire to participate in society through a

work style that suits them.

Peer support and volunteering

Silver Human Resources Centers set in

1,600 municipalities throughout Japan

Registered Center members total

approximately 790,000 people nationwide

in 2011.

Support each other!

Each Center is contracted work by corporations,

households, public organizations, and others and

then it allots the work to its registered members

based on the work content, frequency, and volume.

Members receive a financial disbursement from the

Center calculated based on the content of the work

they performed and the number of hours they spent.

The financial disbursement paid to members as work

compensation averages about 50,000 to 60,000 yen a

month.

The work categories

indoor and outdoor general work (park cleanup,

weeding, building janitorial work, poster

hanging, etc.)

facility administration (administration of car

parking lots, bicycle parking lots, schools,

community centers, and buildings, etc.)

office work (general office work, reception

work, addressing of envelopes, etc.)

Recreation at community center

Exercises suitable for the elderly

Exercise for fall prevention

0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0

Having active role

Having counsel

Feeling of

importance

Life style motivation

Active approach

Feeling of

importance

Mortality (%)Mortality (75>)

+ -

male

female

**

*

**

**

**

*

**:P<.01,*:p<.05

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odds odds odds odds

ISI 1.12**

1.04 - 1.20 1.10**

1.03 - 1.17 1.07*

1.01 - 1.15 1.18**

1.12 - 1.25

age 0.88**

0.86 - 0.91 0.89**

0.87 - 0.92 0.90**

0.87 - 0.92

sex 2.09**

1.26 - 3.48 2.26**

1.45 - 3.52

diabates 0.31**

0.13 - 0.70

heart disease 0.56 0.28 - 1.12

high blood pressure 1.13 0.55 - 2.29

education 1.80 0.63 - 5.13

**:<0.01, *:<0.05

Index of Social Interaction (ISI) and age; sequential data model�P �F all items

��Base categories of other items�� model�Q �F Index of Social Interaction( ISI), age, and sex

�@ disease�F none model�R �F ISI and age

�@ education�F <9 years, sex�F male model�S �F ISI only

Odds Ratio for survival by social interaction and controlled factors�i logistic regression analysis�j

model1 model2 model3 model4

range range range range

Factors related to mortality after 11 years Importance of social Interaction

1) Having active role

2) Life style motivation

3) Feeling of importance

4) Active approach

5) Having counsel

Empowerment Center

Figure 1 Functions of Empowerment Center

2) Zone of promotion for self-actualization activ

ity

3) Zone of promotion for mutual support act

ivity

4) Zone of care management

1) Zone of health check-up Person

Person

Person

Community

People-Oriented Services 1.It means participation of all community members.

2.This implies not only their physical attendance,

but also participation through their actions to

expand their ability to choose services and obtain

information.

3.Having some role in the development or offering

of services motivates residence to achieve the

project goals and, if they feel the project is their

own, this will accelerate achievement.

Conclusion

1. These findings highlight the importance of social interaction in healthy longevity.

2. The introduction of new services such as "strengthening of social ties" represent initial steps in establishing systems that enable elderly persons to live independently with dignity.

3. An ongoing longitudinal study of elders in one community demonstrate that prevention-oriented services are essential to improving the healthy longevity of citizens, and that seniors will accept such services.