Quantitative Properties of the Macro Supply and Demand Structure for Care Facilities for Elderly in Japan.

Tatsuya Nishino

doi:10.3390/ijerph14121489

Abstract

As the Asian country with the most aged population, Japan, has been modifying its social welfare system. In 2000, the Japanese social care vision turned towards meeting the elderly’s care needs in their own homes with proper formal care services. This study aims to understand the quantitative properties of the macro supply and demand structure for facilities for the elderly who require support or long-term care throughout Japan and present them as index values. Additionally, this study compares the targets for establishing long-term care facilities set by Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare for 2025. In 2014, approximately 90% of all the people who were certified as requiring support and long-term care and those receiving preventive long-term care or long-term care services, were 75 years or older. The target increases in the number of established facilities by 2025 (for the 75-years-or-older population) were calculated to be 3.3% for nursing homes; 2.71% for long-term-care health facilities; 1.7% for group living facilities; and, 1.84% for community-based multi-care facilities. It was revealed that the establishment targets for 2025 also increase over current projections with the expected increase of the absolute number of users of group living facilities and community-based multi-care facilities. On the other hand, the establishment target for nursing homes remains almost the same as the current projection, whereas that for long-term-care health facilities decreases. These changes of facility ratios reveal that the Japanese social care system is shifting to realize ‘Ageing in Place’. When considering households’ tendencies, the target ratios for established facilities are expected to be applied to the other countries in Asia.

Highlights

This study aims to understand the quantitative properties of the macro supply and demand structure for facilities for elderly persons requiring support and long-term care throughout Japan, and present them as index values.One of the great human success stories in the last few decades has been the marked increase in longevity in many societies across the globe [1]
The establishment target for nursing homes remains almost the same as the current projection, whereas that for long-term-care health facilities decreases. These changes of facility ratios reveal that the Japanese social care system is shifting to realize ‘Ageing in Place’
The or care, out of the total number of elderly persons certified as needing support or care, this proportion proportion of persons who are 75 years or older in the elderly population of persons 65 years or older rose from 82% in 2002 to 88% in 2013, and it fell slightly to 87% in 2014

Summary

Introduction

This study aims to understand the quantitative properties of the macro supply and demand structure for facilities for elderly persons requiring support and long-term care throughout Japan, and present them as index values.One of the great human success stories in the last few decades has been the marked increase in longevity in many societies across the globe [1]. An increasingly ageing population provides a challenge to ageing countries in terms of meeting the needs of an ageing population and creating a policy environment [3]. One of the main issues in an ageing society has been the provision of housing for the elderly [4,5]. In Denmark, which is known for its highly developed social care system for the aged, formal care was introduced as an alternative to informal care by families [6]. They have developed new attitudes towards old age and new ways of housing and providing services to the elderly since 1980

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