Suggesting Indicators of Age-Friendly City: Social Participation and Happiness, an Ecological Study from the JAGES

Kazushige Ide, Seungwon Jeong, Taishi Tsuji, Ryota Watanabe, Yasuhiro Miyaguni, Hirotaka Nakamura, Miyako Kimura and Katsunori Kondo
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Kazushige Ide: Center for Preventive Medical Sciences, Chiba University, Yayoi-cho, Inage, Chiba 263-8522, Chiba, Japan
Seungwon Jeong: Department of Community Welfare, Faculty of Health Sciences, Niimi University, Nishigata, Niimi 718-8585, Okayama, Japan
Taishi Tsuji: Center for Preventive Medical Sciences, Chiba University, Yayoi-cho, Inage, Chiba 263-8522, Chiba, Japan
Ryota Watanabe: Center for Preventive Medical Sciences, Chiba University, Yayoi-cho, Inage, Chiba 263-8522, Chiba, Japan
Yasuhiro Miyaguni: Center for Gerontology and Social Science, Research Institute, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, 7-430 Morioka-cho, Obu 474-8511, Aichi, Japan
Hirotaka Nakamura: Department of Nursing, Asahi University, 1851 Hozumi, Mizuho 501-0296, Gifu, Japan
Miyako Kimura: Department of Preventive Medicine, St. Marianna University School of Medicine, 2-16-1, Sugao, Miyamae, Kawasaki 216-8511, Kanagawa, Japan
Katsunori Kondo: Center for Preventive Medical Sciences, Chiba University, Yayoi-cho, Inage, Chiba 263-8522, Chiba, Japan

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 9, 1-12

Abstract: Ascertaining progress in building age-friendly cities (AFCs) requires community diagnostic indicators. This study examines the relationship between social participation and happiness at the municipal level. The data from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES) from 2013, 2016, and 2019, comprising 442,079 older people from 289 municipalities, are used. We also employ linear mixed-effects models to evaluate the association between social participation and happiness. In these models, we adjust for seven variables as potential confounders. This study reveals that the higher the social participation, except for neighborhood association, the higher the state of happiness ( B = 0.14–0.30). Our study suggests that social participation is useful, as a community diagnostic indicator, for monitoring the progress of building AFCs, developing strategies, and creating evidence.

Keywords: older people; healthy aging; age-friendly community; community diagnostic indicator; happiness (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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