Processes Supporting Elderly People Living Alone in a Marginal Community in a Mountainous Area

This study investigated how elderly people living alone in a marginal community can be supported, focusing on their relationships within the community. Types of support that make use of the community were also examined. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 5 elderly people living alone in a marginal community in a mountainous area. The interviews were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. The analysis results revealed the following five factors: “ability to adapt to lifestyle”, “health-related anxiety and coping”, “joy in life”, “being supported by the community”, and “hope for passing things on to the community and taking action”. The participants utilized the positive attitudes that they had cultivated in the past. This study clarified the processes through which the participants maintained a balance with their own self-reliance and reached the decision to continue living in the area for as long as possible despite facing anxiety about their health and coping with health issues. To continue to live in the marginal community, the participants adopted preventive health behaviors. They also created their own mutual support networks by and for local residents. However, to assist the participants, there is a need for supporters to expand health-promotion activities from these networks to the entire community. Therefore, forms of assistance that utilize community interaction are essential for supporters.