Efficacy of a program to address older adults’ challenges of daily living after disasters

ABSTRACT

After the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011, providing support for older adults who continued to live in the affected areas has been a critical issue. We examined the effects of programs to address how challenges of daily living impact individuals’ health-related quality of life (HRQOL). This was a 14 session, quasi-experiment trial that included 89 older adults aged 65 years or older who continued to live in the earthquake-affected areas. Participants were assigned to one of two programs: 48 older adults participated in the program “activities and participation”, aimed at addressing the challenges of daily living such as loss of habits, meaning to live, social and domestic roles, and leisure; and 44 older adults participated in the program “body functions and structures”, aimed at improving their physical functions. Differences between groups were assessed using chi-square tests, t-tests, Mann-Whitney U tests, and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests. The “activities and participation” program was effective in advancing participants’ HRQOL (p <.01, effect size = 0.51). Further, it may lead to improved physical functions. This study indicates that, in a post-disaster response, it is effective to focus on challenges of daily living while considering the QOL of affected older adults. The program was useful in helping older adults affected by disasters to rebuild their lives as part of a disaster response.

Acknowledgments

We thank all the participants, the public servants of Minamisoma City, and the staff of Minamisoma City General Hospital who made important contributions to this work. We also thank Prof. Yoshikazu Ishii and Prof. Peter Bontje for providing valuable advice.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare they have no conflicts of interest and are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B) under Grant 17K13884.