本研究の目的は,認知症高齢者にとっての収集の意味を明らかにすることである。対象者は収集癖のある認知症高齢者7名(男性2名,女性5名)で平均年齢は79.6±6.3歳,MMSEは測定不能～21点であった。対象者1名につき3～4日間,収集行動を観察し,さらに収集物品,用途などの項目について質問を行った。行動観察の結果,いずれの対象者も,収集物品,保管場所は特定していた。彼らは,何らかの意味で「生活に必要な」「大事なもの」を「自分あるいは身近な人のもの」と認識して収集し,「自分で管理できる場所」に保管していた。また,収集(物品・用途・所有者),保管(保管場所)の認識は,認知障害の程度と関連している傾向が見られた。さらに彼らは,「自分が手放す必要がある」と納得した時に,物品の回収に応じていた。以上より,援助を行なう際には認知障害の程度を踏まえて行動を理解する必要が示されたが,どのように納得のゆく説明をするかは今後の課題である。

The purpose of this study was to show the meanings of collectionism developed by persons with dementia. Seven demented subjects with collectionism, two male and five female, were studied. The average age was 79.6±6.3 years old and MMSE scores ranged from measurement impossible to 21 points. The researcher spent several days with the subjects to observe collecting behavior. Then the researcher asked the subjects questions regarding their recognition of the items collected and their usage. The results of the research showed that all subjects had specific items and a specific place for keeping their collection. In terms of personal meaning to the subject, the items were necessary for their life and were precious for them. They regarded the collected items as belonging to them or belonging to a familiar person, and they kept the collected items for safekeeping. The awareness of collectionism (the items, their use, their owners) and the place for keeping the collection appears to be related to their degree of cognitive impairment, furthermore they accepted retrieval when convinced of the need to part with collected items. These findings suggest that when giving support to people with dementia it is necessary to understand their behavior taking into account their degree of cognitive impairment. How to provide satisfactory explanation to patients remains a topic for future research.

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