A Community-Based Intervention to Enhance Subjective Well-Being in Older Adults: Study Design and Baseline Participant Profiles
Tsubasa Nakada, Takako Kozawa, Satoshi Seino, Shinichi Murota, Miki Eto, Junko Shimasawa, Yumiko Shimizu, Shinobu Tsurugano, Fuminori Katsukawa, Kazunori Sakamoto, Hironori Washizaki, Yo Ishigaki, Maki Sakamoto, Keiki Takadama, Keiji Yanai, Osamu Matsuo, Chiyoko Kameue, Hitomi Suzuki, Kayo Kurotani, Kazunori Ohkawara- Health Information Management
- Health Informatics
- Health Policy
- Leadership and Management
Promoting subjective well-being is a crucial challenge in aging societies. In 2022, we launched a community-based intervention trial (the Chofu-Digital-Choju Movement). This initiative centered on fostering in-person and online social connections to enhance the subjective well-being of older adults. This paper describes the study design and baseline survey. This quasi-experimental study involved community-dwelling older adults aged 65–84 years in Chofu City, Tokyo, Japan. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 3742 residents (1681 men and 2061 women), and a baseline survey was conducted in January 2022. We assessed subjective well-being (primary outcome); psychosocial, physical, and dietary factors; and the use of information and communication technology variables (secondary outcomes) among the participants. After the intervention involving online classes, community hubs, and community events, a 2-year follow-up survey will be conducted to evaluate the effects of the intervention, comparing the intervention group (participants) with the control group (non-participants). We received 2503 questionnaires (66.9% response rate); of these, the analysis included 2343 questionnaires (62.6% valid response rate; mean age, 74.4 (standard deviation, 5.4) years; 43.7% male). The mean subjective well-being score was 7.2 (standard deviation, 1.9). This study will contribute to the development of a prototype subjective well-being strategy for older adults.