Abstract
Kagoshima prefecture is one of the prefectures in Japan where there are many elderly people living alone or only with their spouses. In 1994, we carried out a survey of the inhabitants who are candidates for care at home in the entire Airagun. The results showed that many inhabi-tants requested care at home.
In intractable neurological diseases, there are often no appropriate treatment methods even after admission, and the course is frequently chronic. Treatment at home combined with persons who care for the patient and in corporation with other welfare resources may improve the patient's QOL.
Therefore treatment at home is a major choice. In particular, in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Parkinson's disease, care at home while symptoms are stable is appropriate in terms of extending the activities of daily life and the QOL of the patients and family. We have performed continuous treatment at home according to our plan for the past 4, 5 years in our Minamikyusyu national hospital.
In our hospital, the care system are composed of three projects. One is practical work of treatment at home. Second is education for home nursing and home helpers who care for the patients and third is research about home care. This treatment was favorably accepted by the patients and families without major problems. Therefore utilization of social resouces is important in addition to the health of the persons who care for the patients.
