In order for the elderly people to live a healthy and enjoyable life, it is extremely important for them to maintain their physical functions. Recently farm work has been seen as effective in preventive care for elderly people, however, there has been no empirical research on the relationship between farm work and health. The purpose of this experiment is to examine the effects of farm work on mood and physical function of elderly people. This experiment was conducted weekly from September to November, on 9 occasions in the university’s farm. Subjects were nine elderly people (mean age = 69.0±4.8 years) living in the university’s neighborhood. Changes in mood among the test subjects were surveyed on the first and last day of the farm activity program -by using the Two-dimensional Mood Scale-Short Term (TDMS-ST)-; at the same time, measurement of their physical functionality was carried out. On the last day of the program, the subjects were asked to freely describe their feelings regarding the farm work on a questionnaire. Analysis of the TDMS-ST showed that subject’s mood had calmed significantly on the last day of the farm work program in comparison to the first. In addition, their state of comfort had increased significantly. From the description found in the questionnaire, most subjects reported feeling that they would be healthy and happy in continuing the farm work. During the course of the program, half of the elderly people said that their conversations with family and farm colleagues had increased while others stated that the plants and earth relaxed and healed them. It was shown that the mood of these elderly people has improved with two months of farm activity program. When measuring their physical functionality, there was a significant increase in the grip level in both hands of the test subjects and it was shown that their functional reach tended to increase. These results show that farm work increased elderly people’s grip level, and improved their sense of physical balance. These results suggest that farm work has a positive effect on health promotion in elderly people.
東日本大震災以降、地域コミュニティの重要性が叫ばれるようになり、特に独居高齢者の健康対策が課題である。日頃から身体を動かし、楽しみがあり、地域住民との交流の場所があることは、元気な高齢者を増やし、心身機能の衰えを遅らせることができる。再び震災が起きても元気で生きていくことに繋がると仮定し、開園した。大学構内にある露地栽培と水耕栽培を活用し、仙台市内高齢者に週一回、2か月間、農園活動に参加してもらった。農園活動の開始時、終了時のほか毎回の農作業の前後において気分プロフィールテスト(TDMS-ST)と各種身体機能測定、自由記述と主観評価等を実施した。
山口 政人、大竹 榮、渡邉 誠、坪川 宏、松本 祥子、曽根 稔雅、柿沼 利弘、金 義信、中林 稔晴
