Educational Program for Promoting Collaboration Between Community Care Professionals and Convenience Stores

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Community Health
• Social Work

Background:

• Convenience stores are vital resources for community-dwelling older adults.
• Effective collaboration between convenience stores and health/social care professionals is crucial for elder support.
• Japan faces a rapidly aging population, necessitating innovative community-based solutions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate an educational program aimed at fostering collaboration between convenience stores and health/social care professionals.
• To assess the program's impact on the attitudes and perceptions of convenience store staff and health/social care professionals regarding support for older adults.
• To explore the program's potential in building community networks for an age-friendly society.

Main Methods:

• Program development involved interviews with convenience store staff to identify needs and collaboration opportunities.
• A pre- and post-program questionnaire survey was administered to 184 participants (convenience store staff and health/social care professionals).
• Statistical analysis was used to evaluate changes in attitudes toward dementia and sense of community.

Main Results:

• Convenience store staff showed significant improvement in attitudes toward dementia (p = .010) post-program.
• Health/social care professionals demonstrated significant improvement in "solidarity and proactiveness" (sense of community) (p = .003).
• The program's impact varied by occupational group, indicating differential effects on perceptions.

Conclusions:

• The educational intervention effectively influenced participants' attitudes and perceptions relevant to supporting older adults.
• The program has the potential to strengthen community networks and contribute to creating age-friendly communities.
• Tailoring interventions based on occupational roles may enhance their effectiveness in promoting interprofessional collaboration for elder care.