Department of Gerontological Policy, National Centre for Geriatrics and Gerontology, 35 Gengo, Morioka-cho, Obu, Aichi 474-8511, Japan.
Public Health. 2011 Nov;125(11):799-805. doi: 10.1016/j.puhe.2011.09.016. Epub 2011 Oct 22.
In a motorized society, increasing numbers of drivers and their family members will have to face the issue of driving cessation late in life due to dementia or age-related conditions. Mobility support for driving retirees should be considered from a public health perspective. Compared with alternative forms of transportation, relying on family members and friends, municipality-provided mobility support services would be more reliable and practical. The present study aimed to explore the provision of mobility support measures at the community level.
A cross-sectional study of all municipal governments in Japan.
A nationwide survey was conducted using a postal self-administered questionnaire to explore the allocation of municipality-provided mobility support measures for two target groups: (1) healthy older residents and (2) older residents with dementia. The possible sociodemographic characteristics of municipalities affecting the implementation of such measures were examined.
Data from 1027 (56.8%) municipal governments were analysed. The present study demonstrated that mobility support measures for older residents, particularly dementia sufferers, were not sufficiently developed in municipalities. Moreover, the analyses showed that the following three characteristics of municipalities were related to the implementation of mobility support measures for healthy older residents: longer roads, low percentage of older residents per unit of road length, and low population density.
These findings provide insight into the possible incentives for implementing mobility support for healthy older residents, and indicate the prospective mobility needs of driving retirees, including dementia sufferers.
在一个机动化的社会中，由于痴呆症或与年龄相关的疾病，越来越多的驾驶员及其家庭成员将不得不面对晚年因驾驶能力丧失而无法驾车的问题。从公共卫生的角度来看，应考虑为退休驾驶员提供出行支持。与依靠家庭成员和朋友相比，依靠市政提供的出行支持服务更可靠和实用。本研究旨在探讨社区层面提供出行支持措施的情况。
对日本所有市政府的横断面研究。
采用邮寄自填问卷的全国性调查，对两个目标群体（1）健康的老年居民和（2）患有痴呆症的老年居民的市政出行支持措施分配情况进行调查。同时还对可能影响这些措施实施的市政相关社会人口特征进行了检查。
对 1027 个（56.8%）市政府的数据进行了分析。本研究表明，在各市政府中，针对老年居民（尤其是痴呆症患者）的出行支持措施不够完善。此外，分析表明，以下三个市政特征与针对健康老年居民的出行支持措施的实施有关：道路长度较长、单位道路长度的老年居民比例较低以及人口密度较低。
这些发现为实施针对健康老年居民的出行支持措施提供了激励因素方面的见解，并表明了包括痴呆症患者在内的退休驾驶员的潜在出行需求。
