都市部と農村部における高齢者の地域ケアシステムに関するニーズとその傾向

Study of Community Care for Elderly People Residing in Urban and Rural Areas

　都市部と農村部における高齢者の地域ケアに関するシステム（以下，地域ケアシステム）についての要望の実態と，両地域の違いを明らかにし，地域特性を生かした体制づくりの方向性を検討することを目的として，宮城県都市部A区と農村部B町に在住する高齢者を対象に調査した．

　その結果，地域ケアシステムへの要望は両地域とも「システムの充実・増加」の割合が高かった．次いで高かったのは，A区は「経済的援助」で，B町は「迷惑をかけたくない」であった．A区，B町の地域ケアシステムに要望がある高齢者は，高齢者世帯の割合が高く，加えてA区は，同居人数が少なく，年齢は比較的若い傾向があった．両地域の地域ケアシステムへの要望がある高齢者の比較では，B町のほうが，ここ1年においても仕事をしている割合が高かった．

　以上のことから，都市部は社会活動などを通した住民同士の協力体制の強化を，農村部では気兼ねなく利用できる公的サービスの充足・充実を図っていくことの必要性が示唆された．

　The purpose of this research was to clarify the needs of community care systems for the elderly in urban and rural areas and to determine the community-based differences. Additionally，the directionality of system-making by the communities was investigated. The subjects were elderly people living in A Ward（urban area）and B Town（rural area）in Miyagi Prefecture，Japan.

　The results indicated that the need for "quality and quantity in the systems" received the highest percentage of responses. In A Ward "economic help" was the second highest，but in B Town "I do not want to trouble others" was the second. In A Ward and in B Town，the percentage of the elder-only families that had needs for community care was higher than that of other families. Additionally，those A Ward elderly tended to be younger than the others. When the data from the two regions was compared，the percentage of the elderly people in B Town who were working during the year before the investigation was higher than that of A Ward.

　The following are suggested from these results. It is necessary to strengthen the resident's cooperative relationships in urban areas so that the elderly can participate in social activities. The rural area fulfills this requirement，but it is necessary to enhance the social welfare system in farming-village communities so the senior citizens can use it without psychological uneasiness.