Yoshiko Nakasuji

[Purpose] To clarify the impact of COVID-19 prevention measures on participants in the Program of Healthy Community Life for Older Adults and the resulting changes in their physical conditions and daily lives. [Methods] Analyses were performed on the 13 participants (all female, average age = 80.5 years) whose data on physical measurements and daily lives were available at all three time-points: before and six months after the program, and at the time of its resumption. [Results] In the comparison between the three time-points, significant changes were observed in body weight, bone density and two-step test values. For body weight, a decrease was seen between before intervention and time of resumption, with mean values changing from 51.4kg to 49.1kg and to 51.2kg (p = .013). For bone density and two-step test values, an increase was observed between before and 6 months after intervention, with mean values of bone density and two-step test changing from 66.0g/cm2 to 76.0g/cm2 and to 73.2g/cm2 (p = .013), and from 0.9 to 1.1 and to 1.0 (p = .018), respectively. The numbers of respondents who said they “had no problem with physical condition” and those who stated they “refrained from going out or frequency of going out decreased” were the same, but half of them were “aware of weakness in legs,” some being hospitalized for broken bones after falling. [Conclusion] The suspension of the program for more than six months due to COVID-19 pandemic caused a decrease in the frequency of going out and motor function in the participating older adults. In the future, it will be necessary to develop a new method to enable older adults to engage in activities and social interaction even under infection control measures, and to implement continuous support activities for older adults living in the community.

医療機関、介護老人保健施設、特別養護老人ホームなどで勤務する看護師13名、介護福祉士9名を対象に、三つの認知症ステージ(軽度〜中程度〜重度)に該当する認知症者とその家族および、診療に関わっている医師に対して、認知症ケアに携わる看護師・介護福祉士が留意している関わりの特徴を明らかにするために聞き取り調査を行った。得られたデータは内容分析で分析した。分析の結果、認知症ケアに関わっている看護師、介護福祉士は認知症の進行法に伴う全ステージにおいて、認知症者に対する理解に力を注いでいることが明らかになった。重度のステージであっても敬意をもって【「その人」の力が維持できるように関わり続ける】ことに努めようと考えていることなどが示された。認知症者の全般的なフィジカルアセスメントを積極的に行い、認知症への治療効果が得られるよう、認知症者の意思決定支援を推進することが重要だと考えられた。