DOI: 10.5176/2315-4330_WNC18.189
Authors: Hiroe Yanahara, Takae Machida, Maki Matsuo, Saori Nakazawa, Eiko Suzuki
Abstract:
This study aims to identify differences in the health conditions and social contributions of the elderly in relation to the degree of volunteer activity participation, and determine what effective support can be provided for these elderly persons. The participants are elderly persons participating in volunteer activities, living in municipal housing owned by the Kumamoto prefecture in Japan. We classified the participants into an active group who contributed to the raising of funds for activities, and a non-active group. We conducted group interviews with the volunteers, organized interview data on the thoughts of the two groups according to the five perspectives of the balanced score card (BSC): (1) learning and development, (2) participants, (3) financial matters, (4) process of the activities, and (5) social contributions, and conducted a Strength-Weakness-Opportunity-Threat (SWOT) analysis. When comparing the strengths of the two groups, the active group showed the following characteristics in the information collecting: more variety in the collected information (perspective of learning and development), ease of obtaining information of potential volunteers (perspective of participants), knowledge of how to raise funds (perspective of financial matters), and physically more active and knowledge of the local community (perspective of social contributions). From the perspective of the process of activities, both groups place importance on the relations among people. For weaknesses, and from the perspective of learning and development, the active group had difficulty in maintaining their motivation, and from the perspective of financial matters this group had difficulties in securing funds. From the perspective of social contributions, the non-active group depended on the active members. From the perspective of participants, both groups experienced a decline in physical function with age, and from the perspective of the process of activities there was a possibility that family or individual circumstances make it difficult to participate in all activities. Participants in this study are members of a volunteer group of elderly persons voluntarily formed in a regional city in Kumamoto prefecture where the elderly population accounts for 25.7% and is expected to increase. It appears that there is a self- and mutual- help relationship between active and non-active members where non-active members rely on the active members who assist the non-active members to be in harmony with the volunteer activities led by the active members, and that this relationship helps maintain independent lives. For the strengths, active members were able to collect more information from the perspective of learning and development, and contributed more through physical activity from the perspective of social contributions. It can be inferred that physically more active elderly persons are in a situation where they remain able to use their cognitive functions to collect information. For the weaknesses, the active members experienced loss of motivation. This may be due to the possibility that active members feel it a burden to assist non-active members. We wish to conduct further studies to understand how to maintain and improve motivation. The results of the SWOT analysis with the perspectives of the BSC showed that there are differences in health conditions and social contributions of the elderly depending on the participation in volunteer activities, and what types of support from health services can be expected to be effective.
Keywords: volunteer activities by the elderly persons; SWOT analysis; BSC
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