Long-term care (LTC) system for the elderly in Japan

Abstract

This qualitative research aims to study long-term care (LTC) system for the elderly in Japan, it is using in-depth interviews to collect data from government and related private sectors, including the Health and Welfare Center (Wakaba), Shukutoku Kyoseien Institute and Shalom’s Young Leaves Institution. The findings are: 1) The target group under LTC insurance is divided into 2 categories: Category 1: people aged 65 or over who request care or support services for whatever reason, Category 2: people aged 40-64 who suffer from specified 16 diseases, caused by aging. 2) Types of long-term care services included: (1) LTC requirements for levels 1-5 (2) Support requirements protection for levels 1-2 (3) Not certified; people who are still self-help, can get health promotion services for LTC preventive care in general. 3) Strong points and weak points: Strong points are (1) All forms of long-term care are similar but differ according to individual elderly situation (2) Co-payment between the government and the service users, who pays only 10-20% of their income. (3) Community-based services where people in the community participate in providing care services for the elderly to reduce hospital or institution costs, and keeping the elderly close to their family. (4) Services provision limited according to the classification of physical and mental conditions approved by the board. A Weak point is inadequate number of LTC workers to perform LTC services.