The Development of a Mental Support System for the Elderly Living in Depopulated Areas of Japan

Abstract: We have studied a method to improve the QOL for the elderly receiving facility care, or home care in depopulated areas of Japan by taking advantage of information and communication technology (ICT). As part of these efforts, old photos of the elderly were digitized and uploaded to cloud services. We created an environment to make these images accessible to staff caregivers so that they could utilize the data in various long-term care settings. Multimedia, such as interactive digital photo albums and slide show videos were produced by using uploaded photos. The elderly, along with their families and caregivers enjoyed watching personal images which resulted in stronger relationships with family and the care staff. We also created an environment to introduce and promote video chat software in order to increase the opportunity of communication between the elderly and their significant others. Video chat software makes it possible for the person you are talking with to share reminiscent media, as described above, and to be able to listen from a remote location. Finally, we have organized human resources and collaborated with a local welfare service and a local hospital in order to provide support to the elderly living alone. A method was proposed to build a rapport between the elderly and their support systems..

Keywords: The Elderly, Depression, Dementia, Reminiscence, Internet, Local Welfare

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe100576

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