Relationships among living preferences during the care period, the availability of elderly nursing care facilities, and intergenerational differences for residents of small isolated islands

Abstract

This study investigated living preferences during the care period in two small island villages with elderly nursing care facilities in Okinawa Prefecture and two comparably sized villages without such facilities and analyzed intergenerational differences regarding the availability of elderly nursing care facilities. Village residents older than 20 years of age were asked to complete a questionnaire and 417 responses were received.Subjects were divided regarding to island group based on the availability of nursing facility care. To estimate the behavioral dimensions of subjects based on data similarities and mutual relationships, correlation axes for preferences about living on or off the island and with families or independently were extracted using Hayashi’s third method of quantification.In the facility-available island group, living with family off the island was most common among elderly people, while most young and middle-aged people wanted to remain on the island, representing significant intergenerational differences. In contrast, in the facility-unavailable island group, living on the island was common in all generations.These results indicate that living preferences during the care period for elderly people living on small isolated islands are influenced by the current state of nursing care for the elderly both on and off isolated islands.