SUPPORTING CARERS OF COMMUNITY-DWELLING FRAIL OLDER ADULTS: HIDDEN AGENDA IN LONG-TERM CARE SYSTEM IN JAPAN

摘要

The establishment of “the Community-based integrated care” is emphasized in the 2017 Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCI) Reform but the role of family carers in the system remains unclear. The purpose of this presentation is to explore how the issue of carers is treated in LTC policies in Japanese political, economic and cultural contexts from Carers’ perspectives. We found that the 2016 Child Care and Family Care Leave Act Reform, the policies to prevent giving up jobs due to caring roles, the 2015 National Dementia Strategy and the LTCI reform have not fully addressed the issue of family carers. The results of our survey on the Community-based integrated care support centers also indicated carers faced various difficulties despite the use of LTCI services. We will argue the societal risk in the increasing burden to carers for the frail older adults and the paradox of “socialization of care” in Japanese LTC model.