Using the eighth Panel Survey of the Employment of Disabled People(2015),
this study targeted 234 visually impaired people aged 60 or more and examined the
factors that affect preparations for senior years. Only 19.2%(45 people) of the
respondents said they were preparing for senior years. The result of cross
analyzing the visually impaired by gender showed that the male elderly had higher
ratio of preparation for senior years, employment, education, and having a spouse.
On the other hand, they had higher ratio of having chronic diseases, and needing
other’s assistance in their daily life while their subjective socio-economic status
was lower than that of the female elderly. Their health status was similar to that of
the female elderly, but such difference had no statistical significance. As for religion,
elderly women showed higher ratio for having a religion. As for the factors affecting
preparations for senior years, factors that have statistically significant influence
were ‘education’, ‘whether one is economically active’, and ‘the level of needing
assistance in daily life’. Based on the findings the following suggestions can be
made. First, based on the result related to economic activities, those who have a job
are better prepared for senior years, there should be sustainability for jobs such as
masseurs and acupuncturists, which were at the center of controversy. Second,
based on the result that the higher the level of education, the higher the ratio of
preparing well for senior years, the visually impaired should at least have the
education level of graduates of high school for the blind or higher. This is partly the
reason why the accessibility to Iryoeducation through high school course is high.
Third, based on the result that showed that the lower the necessity for assistance
in daily life, the better people were for preparing for senior years, there should be
ways to actively utilize the activity assistance system, which is the official provider
of assistance for those with severe visual impairment.