Solitary Death: A New Problem of an Aging Society in Japan

Fukukawa, Yasuyuki

doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2010.03216.x

Cited by 24 publications

(23 citation statements)

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“…One letter article from Japan showed the 35 cases treated as solitary deaths in 8 years from 2000. They showed the association between incident of solitary death and person who found resident's status in the public housing complex 5. In this report, they defined whether a case is solitary death or not depending on subjective opinion of person who found the case.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Factors that prolong the ‘postmortem interval until finding’ (PMI-f) among community-dwelling elderly individuals in Japan: analysis of registration data

et al. 2012

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ObjectivesTo clarify the factors affecting ‘postmortem interval until finding’ (PMI-f) among elderly unexpected death cases.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingAll area of Yamagata prefecture in Japan.ParticipantsEntering subjects were 5675 elderly cases with age of ≥65 years selected from all 9002 cases of unexpected death from 2002 to 2007 in Yamagata prefecture between 2002 and 2007. Our final study subjects consisted of 3387 cases sampled with several criteria to assess the factors to prolong PMI-f.Primary outcome measuresThe outcome was the postmortem interval until finding (PMI-f) as the time from death until finding the body which we defined in this study.Results‘Living alone’ showed the highest adjusted HR (3.73, 95% CI 3.37 to 4.13), also ‘unnatural death’ (1.50, 1.28 to 1.75), ‘found at own home’ (1.37, 1.22 to 1.55) and ‘younger subjects’ (0.99, 0.98 to 0.99). In the model including interactions with the household situation, we found ‘male subjects living alone’ and ‘female subjects living with family’ tended to be found later.ConclusionsPMI-f is an effective outcome for quantitative analyses of risk of bodies left. To prevent the elderly dead bodies left for long time, it is necessary to keep regular home-based contact with elderly individuals living alone.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Factors that prolong the ‘postmortem interval until finding’ (PMI-f) among community-dwelling elderly individuals in Japan: analysis of registration data

et al. 2012

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“…Conversely, poor relationships can pose difficulties for obtaining support, especially for older people living alone [27]. Fukukawa [29] demonstrated that the most helpful individuals for preventing social isolation and solitary death were not family members in distant locations, but nearby neighbors. Therefore, the roots of social isolation leading to solitary death in present-day communities may lie in the weakening of the community’s mimamori , as it is known in Japan, for older neighbors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of a community’s self-efficacy scale for preventing social isolation among community-dwelling older people (Mimamori Scale)

et al. 2016

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BackgroundAmong older people in developed countries, social isolation leading to solitary death has become a public health issue of vital importance. Such isolation could be prevented by monitoring at-risk individuals at the neighborhood level and by implementing supportive networks at the community level. However, a means of measuring community confidence in these measures has not been established. This study is aimed at developing the Community’s Self-Efficacy Scale (CSES; Mimamori scale in Japanese) for community members preventing social isolation among older people.MethodsThe CSES is a self-administered questionnaire developed on the basis of Bandura’s self-efficacy theory. The survey was given to a general population (GEN) sample (n = 6,000) and community volunteer (CVOL) sample (n = 1,297). Construct validity was determined using confirmatory factor analysis. Internal consistency was calculated using Cronbach’s alpha. The Generative Concern Scale (GCS-R) and Brief Sense of Community Scale (BSCS) were also administered to assess criterion-related validity of the CSES.ResultsIn total, 3,484 and 859 valid responses were received in the GEN and CVOL groups, respectively. The confirmatory factor analysis identified eight items from two domains—community network and neighborhood watch—with goodness of fit index = 0.984, adjusted goodness of fit index = 0.970, comparative fit index = 0.988, and root mean square error of approximation = 0.047. Cronbach’s alpha for the entire CSES was 0.87 and for the subscales was 0.80 and higher. The score of the entire CSES was positively correlated with the GCS-R in both the GEN (r = 0.80, p < 0.001) and CVOL (r = 0.86, p < 0.001) samples.ConclusionsThe CSES demonstrated adequate reliability and validity for assessing a community’s self-efficacy to aid in its preventing social isolation among older people. The scale is potentially useful for promoting health policies, practices, and interventions within communities. This may help prevent social isolation among older people and contribute to overall well-being in aging societies in Japan and abroad.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-016-3857-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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“…Socially isolated older people are the most vulnerable to natural disasters [1-3]. Particularly in Japan, “solitary death” means passing away at home and unnoticed by anyone, with bodies left unattended for several days or even over months or years [4], with estimates of the incidence rate at 0.10 per 1000 persons [5]. …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of a Community Commitment Scale with Cross-sectional Survey Validation for Preventing Social Isolation in Older Japanese People

et al. 2012

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BackgroundElderly social isolation could be prevented by facilitating communication or mutual helping at the neighborhood level. The helping of elderly neighbors by local volunteers may relate to their community commitment (CC), but ways to measure CC have not been identified. The aim of the present study was to develop a Community Commitment Scale (CCS) to measure psychological sense of belonging and socializing in the community among local volunteers, for research in prevention of elderly social isolation. We also tested the CCS in a general population of the elderly.MethodsA pilot test of 266 Japanese urban residents was conducted to examine face validity for 24 identified items, of which 12 items were selected for the CCS, based on a 4-point Likert-type scale. The CCS was developed via self-report questionnaires to 859 local volunteers in two suburban cities and to 3484 randomly sampled general residents aged 55 years or older living in one of the cities. To assess concurrent validity, data were collected using the Brief Sense of Community Scale (Peterson; 2008) and two types of single questions on self-efficacy for helping elderly neighbors.ResultsItem analysis and factor analysis identified 8 items, which were classified between two datasets under the domains of “belonging” and “socializing” in the local volunteers and the general residents. Cronbach’s alpha (which conveyed the internal consistency of the CCS) was 0.75 in local volunteers and 0.78 in general residents. The correlation coefficients between the scores of the CCS and BSCS were 0.54 for local volunteers and 0.62 for general residents. ANOVA comparing the CCS between the confidence levels of the two types of single question of self-efficacy on helping elderly neighbors showed a strong relationship in the volunteers and residents.ConclusionsThese results demonstrate acceptable internal consistency and concurrent validity for the CCS, with the two dimensions “belonging” and “socializing”, among the local volunteers and general residents in urban Japanese areas. Community commitment measured by the CCS was related to the degree of confidence for self-efficacy in helping elderly neighbors to prevent elderly social isolation.

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Solitary Death: A New Problem of an Aging Society in Japan

Cited by 24 publications

References 1 publication

Factors that prolong the ‘postmortem interval until finding’ (PMI-f) among community-dwelling elderly individuals in Japan: analysis of registration data

Factors that prolong the ‘postmortem interval until finding’ (PMI-f) among community-dwelling elderly individuals in Japan: analysis of registration data

Development of a community’s self-efficacy scale for preventing social isolation among community-dwelling older people (Mimamori Scale)

Development of a Community Commitment Scale with Cross-sectional Survey Validation for Preventing Social Isolation in Older Japanese People

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