Development of a Scale for Assessing the Meaning of Participation in Care Prevention Group Activities Provided by Local Governments in Japan

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 17; no. 12; p. 4499
• Main Authors: Sasaki, Ryu, Hirano, Michiyo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 23.06.2020; MDPI
• Subjects: Activities of daily living; Aging; Correlation analysis; Factor analysis; Goodness of fit; Local government; Long term health care; Older people; Participation; Prevention; Quality of life; Validity; Japan
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17124499

The meaning of participation in care prevention group activities may encourage continuous participation, making older adults active and healthy throughout their lives. This study developed a scale to assess the meaning of participation in care prevention group activities. It involved 427 participants in care prevention group activities (CPGAs) in Japan who filled out a self-administered questionnaire between October 2017 and February 2018. The meaning of participation was assessed using 15 items. In total, there were 379 valid responses. A factor analysis yielded two factors: “promotion of self-growth” and “enrichment of daily life”. The goodness of fit index (GFI), comparative fit index (CFI), and root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) were satisfactory (GFI = 0.923; CFI = 0.960; RMSEA = 0.073). Cronbach’s α was 0.939 for the entire scale. The scale scores were significantly correlated with scores of the social activity-related daily life satisfaction scale and Ikigai-9. The scale’s reliability and validity were confirmed, indicating its usability for promoting care prevention efforts.