Reminiscence Therapy in Elder Care: Awakening Life Histories through Digital Narratives

This study investigated how digital narratives anchored in original Japanese landscapes (genfukei) function as non-pharmacological interventions for cognitive stimulation and psychosocial well-being among elderly populations aged 75-95 years. A systematic field investigation of therapeutic landscape environments in the Awa-Kamogawa region, combined with in-depth semi-structured interviews with family caregivers (n = 12) and social welfare policy experts and government officials (n = 10) was analyzed using NVivo 12 software. The data collection and the analysis were conducted from September to October in 2025. Fundamental epistemological differences were identified between “macro efficiency” orientations prioritizing scalable population health infrastructure and “micro humanity” orientations prioritizing individual patient dignity and relational care quality. An integrated public health framework comprising five core categories was developed: Material Continuity, Sensory Resonance, Scale Familiarity, Temporal Layering, and Labor Inscription. These explain relationships between therapeutic landscape characteristics, healthcare stakeholder priorities, and psychosocial health outcomes through autobiographical memory activation mechanisms. Findings demonstrate that effective elderly mental health promotion requires simultaneous public health action at three levels: emotionally supportive care relationships at the micro clinical level, sustainable health system infrastructure at the macro policy level, and critically, community health implementation and care coordination mechanisms at the meso level bridging individual patient experiences with population health data systems.