HOW DOES THE SPACE STRUCTURE OF COMMUNITY PROMOTE SUICIDE PREVENTION FOR ELDERLY?. (16th November 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Oka, M; Taniguchi, R; Ishikawa, G; Sakamoto, K; Ohira, Y; Otazawa, T; Yamauchi, K
• Is Part Of: Innovation in aging. Volume 2(2018)Supplement 1
• Page Start: 938
• Page End: 939
• Publication Date: 2018-11-16
• Subjects: Aging -- Periodicals; Gerontology -- Periodicals; 612.67
• DOI: 10.1093/geroni/igy031.3487
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2399-5300

Abstract

Abstract: Last year the number of people who committed suicide in Japan was 21, 681, with roughly 39% of that total made up of elderly people. In this rapidly aging country, the need to come up with a strategy for suicide prevention is of the utmost urgency. Taking notice of the fact that Town X in Japan, a small town with rare suicide incidence, has many alleys where cars aren't allowed to pass through as well as a large number of benches, we have hypothesized that the space structures of communities can have a noticeable impact on the habitants' behaviour and mental health. As a result of our analysis, we found a significant difference in that citizens of Town X, which has many such alleys, in comparison to towns without, have lower suicide incidence, the higher levels of self-efficacy and less opposed to help-seeking. In compact communities with complicatedly crossed alleyways, the elderly are able to move around more easily on foot, encouraging them to more naturally socialize with their neighbors and be a part of the circulation of news. This kind of space structure of communities possibly enforces the ability to detect problems early and intervene.