2024 Volume 15 Issue 1 Pages 1_45-1_50
This study aimed to understand home helpers as an aid, trace their professional origins back to the early days of “Hashutsufu” (hired housemaids), and examine their relationship with “Hashutsukangofu” (visiting nurses) during the same period. This historical study used primary and secondary sources.
“Hashutsufu” was thought to have become a modern profession by subdividing housework under the social conditions of the Meiji and Taisho eras when there was a complete dearth of “Jochu” (maid). The “Hashutsufukai” (hired housemaids association) had a similar employment system to that of the “Hashutsukangofukai” (visiting nurse association). However, no historical records indicating their relation were found. They were believed to compete with each other in providing care for patients at home and in hospitals. After both associations were dissolved following the Employment Security Act implementation, individuals from these associations became colleagues at the Paid Nurse and Housekeeper Agency Hospitals introduced a system in which patients were only cared for by the hospital’s nurses, and “Hashutsufu” began to take the role of attending patients instead of “Hashutsukangofu.” The intertwined history of both professions needs to be acknowledged, and a good collaborative relationship should be established based on mutual respect.
