Depression among older adults is one of the most critical public health issues. The proximity of elementary schools has been positively associated with neighborhood social cohesion and quality of life. However, no studies have identified an association between the proximity of elementary school and older adults’ mental health. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the association between the proximity of elementary schools, one of the core facilities of neighborhood communities in Japan, and depression in older adults. A total of 131,871 participants (63,430 men 73.7 ± 6.1 years, 68,441 women 73.8 ± 6.2 years) were analyzed from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES) 2016 survey. Logistic regression analysis showed that there was no association between distance to elementary school and depression among males. However, among females, compared with the participants living within 400 m from the nearest elementary school, the odds ratio of depression for those living between 400 and 799 m and more than 800 m away were 1.06 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.00–1.12) and 1.07 (95% CI 1.00–1.15), respectively. The findings may be useful when considering the design of communities around elementary schools and the planning of facilities as a population-based approach to promote mental health of older women.

Recreational activities are found to increase people’s smiles, arising joy in older people, but there is limited research on this topic within the Japanese context. This cross-sectional study aimed to measure the quality and frequency of smiles in older people living in rural settings using a smile analysis application. The participants comprised 13 females aged over 65 years who lived in Unnan City, Japan, and regularly attended recreational meetings. In this study, the recreational activity that the participants joined was a game called Mattoss. A video camera captured the participants’ faces, while a smile assessment application assessed their facial expressions for smiles and joy. A total of 2767 smiles were recorded. For validity, we calculated the Spearman’s rho score between smile and joy, which was 0.9697 (p < 0.001), while for reliability, we determined the Spearman’s rho score for each participant, which exceeded 0.7 (p < 0.001). Surges of smiles were induced by one’s own mistakes, successes, and big mistakes in the game and by severe or mild judgments by the referee. High validity and reliability of smile evaluation were demonstrated. The study found that smiling increased during recreational activities. Therefore, recreational activities can be encouraged for older people living in rural communities.

Denne femte og siste NAFOL-boken er nok et viktig bidrag til kunnskapsfeltet om og for lærerutdanningene, barnehage, grunnskole og videregående skole. Boken er den siste av en antologiserie med bidrag fra NAFOL-stipendiater, alumni, førstelektorkandidater og internasjonale stipendiater. Alle bidragene er grundig vurdert gjennom blind fagfellevurdering – først abstraktene og så artiklene. Som tidligere NAFOL-bøker, inneholder boken en samling forsknings artikler om lærerutdanningsforskning som krysser nasjonale grenser, fagdisipliner, og ikke minst utdanningsnivå, fra barnehage til videregående og lærerutdanningene. Bidragene reflekterer utfordringer utdanningene møter i dagens samfunn, og viser hvordan forskning kan bygge broer av forståelser innenfor det komplekse domenet utdanningen er. Boken gir et godt innblikk i dagens lærerutdanningsforskning. Også i denne boken har vi valgt å beholde originalspråket artiklene er skrevet på, og det er med glede vi ser at flere norske forskere melder seg inn i det internasjonale forskningsmiljøet ved å skrive på engelsk. Samtidig er det viktig å ivareta det norske språket i forskningsformidlingen, og boken søker å finne en balanse mellom internasjonal og nasjonal formidling. Det er stort mangfold både i forskningstematikk og forskningsmetoder, noe som preger forskningsfeltet. NAFOLs arbeid og bidrag til lærerutdanningsforskning er kjent langt utover Norge, og denne boken symboliserer den internasjonale dialogen om lærerutdanningsforskning som NAFOL deltar i. Boken er en unik kilde for forskere som ønsker å holde seg oppdatert om lærerutdanningsforskning som reflekterer dagens samfunn.