介護保険制度の受容に伴う高齢者ケアと相互扶助の変容―上甑島旧里村を事例として―

Abstract

In the late 1990s, the problem of care for the elderly was a growing concern in Japan. Under these circumstances, care services for the elderly in the former village of Sato attracted the attention of many specialists who regarded it as having the most developed community-care system. In general, it is believed that the provision of medical welfare services on remote islands is mediocre in comparison with the standards of the mainland. This paper discusses the process of the provision of high-level care for the elderly in the former village of Sato, which is located on an island handicapped by socioeconomic problems. In addition, the paper also clarifies the impact that the provision of care for the elderly has had on the local system of provision of services for the elderly, after the implementation of long-term care insurance in 2000.