[Productive activities and well-being among community-dwelling elderly].
OBJECTIVE
This study examined the association between engagement in productive activities and well-being among community-dwelling elderly.


METHODS
Data for 576 older adults were obtained from a mail survey in Osaka City. The productive activities was measured with reference to three domains (paid work, unpaid work at home, and unpaid work outside the home) and the number of productive roles. Well-being was assessed by two measures: life satisfaction (LSIK) and self-rated health. The author used multivariate analyses with each of the two measures of well-being as dependent variables, and each of the productive activities as independent variables. The analyses were conducted separately for men and women, controlling for sociodemographic variables, IADL(instrumental activities of daily living) and social relationships.


RESULTS
Multivariate analyses revealed the following findings. Paid work was positively associated with life satisfaction of women and self-rated health of men and women. Unpaid work at home was not significantly associated with life satisfaction or self-rated health for either men or women. However, unpaid work outside the home was related to higher scores for life satisfaction and self-rated health among women. The numbers of productive roles were positively associated with life satisfaction of women and self-rated health of men and women.


CONCLUSIONS
Productive engagement was generally beneficial to older women's well-being except for unpaid work at home. Among men, only paid work out of the three activity domains and the number of productive roles were associated with better self-rated health. Public health policies and programs that bring older women into productive engagement outside the home may thus improve their well-being and generate benefits for communities.
Okamoto
Hideaki
H
Faculty of Human Ecology, Wayo Women's University.
D000368:Aged / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D057187:Independent Living; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D014937:Work