離島社会における保健医療の総合的研究(1) : 西阿室村落における高齢化社会について社会学的視点から

This comprehensive study aims at extracting a model of cooperated health care among local government, local people and voluntary associations in the isolated islands. The village named Nishiamuro (79 households and 119 population in 2001) as a case stady was chosen among the Amami Islands. From the 26th of August to the 1st of September 2001, questionnaire survey was operated to 51 households, with which included 69 aged men and women. 42 households with 57 villagers answered. This article is a brief report for this questionnaire survey, focusing on analysing the process of aging in the Nishiamuro village community through demographic data and villagers\u27 interviews. As the result, the return migration to the village after the retirement in urban cities promoted the aging of the village after late 1980\u27s. Most aged returnees had once migrated to big cities from this village in order to support their family members around late 1960\u27s when the Japanese rapid eco- nomic growth started. 40 years after the urban migration, the migrants retired on pension living in rent house as \u27empty nest\u27 (their children had already left their families). Nishiamuro is a remote and isolated village in the Islands. However, people those who had adopted urban life-style cohabit in this village. We should remind that urban and rural life-style coexist in the villaere when health care is operated