UMB Staff
The following are reflections from some of the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) students who traveled to Japan last summer for the Global Health Aging in Japan course. You can read more student reflections here.
June 13, 2024
Welcome to Dementia World. You are boarding a mysterious tour bus that will take you to see all the main attractions. But none of the signs make sense. The map is convoluted. You try to ask the driver and other passengers for help and no one seems to know where the bus is going. Sometimes, the bus veers off course for no reason. Other times, it brings you back to the same stops you had already seen.
This is one of many case studies presented in the Dementia Supporters’ Training Course in Yamato City. The 90-minute workshop is available free of charge to all citizens, including children and youth, with the goal of increasing public awareness of dementia.
Today, we had the chance to take part in a demo. I was impressed with how relatable and engaging the material was due to its use of beautiful animations, card games, and infographics. Learning points are not overly medicalized and can be adapted to different age groups and education levels. To date, over 20,000 citizens have taken the course, which is roughly 10 percent of the city’s population. That is an incredible uptake compared to some of the dementia educational initiatives we have back at home. We all left feeling inspired by the creativity and thoughtfulness of this course.
A group of us spent the rest of the day in Enoshima, a small island off the southern coast of Kanagawa, exploring the shrine gardens and enjoying fresh seafood with the coastline and Mount Fuji in the distance.
Vance Tran, MD
MS in Palliative Care Student, School of Graduate Studies
June 21, 2024
Rainy but excited, our trip to Wakabadai Danchi was the culmination of our two-week travel to Japan. Wakabadai Housing Complex, located on the outskirts of Yokohama, was home to more than 13,000 residents in more than 6,000 households as of 2023. Developed in 1979 by the Kanagawa Prefecture Housing Supply Public Corporation, Wakabadai was built on the concepts of harmony with nature, respect for humanity, and response to increased leisure time, and it has become a model for intergenerational housing, promoting physical activity and social engagement.
Wakabadai provides a safe and accessible place where residents can thrive with the support they need as they advance into the later years of their lives. The clinics and the Community Care Plaza offer comprehensive services and support from nurses, social workers, care managers, and volunteers. Seasonal events and regular social/physical activities promote the social connectedness of older residents. Active volunteerism provides opportunities for older adults to give back to society and find meaning and purpose in life, which aligns with the concept of Ikigai (i.e., a sense of life worth living). Spaces such as Himawari, Sorameme, and Wakka, run by resident-led organizations, are designed to facilitate intergenerational interactions and support their well-being.
At Wakabadai, we saw many aspects of the key paradigms of gerontology — supporting the biopsychosocial well-being of older adults from a life course perspective — come to life. It is heartening to see how, in a place where 54 percent of the residents are older adults, the principles we learned in gerontology come into play to enable residents to live socially connected, meaningful lives in their later years. The Global Health Aging in Japan course has been the highlight of my education in gerontology!
Yoon Chung Kim, MHS, MS
PhD in Gerontology Candidate, UMB and University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Read about the Global Health Aging: Gerontology in Japan course in this issue.
