Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the life situation of 998 applicants for nursing care insurance in Kagoshima city. The results were as follows : 1. The age range of the subjects was from 41 to 102 (mean±SD, 80.7±8.2), and 97.1% of them were more than 65 years old. There were no significant differences in the distribution of levels of support or care needed between males and females. 2. The largest age group was 80-84 years old, and it comprised mainly two groups needing support (33.7%) and care level 1 (32.2%). 3. The majority of subjects (70.3%) were living at own home and the proportion of the subjects classified into the groups needing support and care level 1 was 69%. There were significant differences in the distribution of levels of support or care needed between home-living and institutionalized subjects. 4. The proportions of subjects who need watching or attendance during dental activities were 24.8% for swallowing, 26.1 % for eating, and 34.6% for oral prophylaxis. In each item, there was a significant correlation between the practice ability of the subjects and levels of support or care needed. 5. The ability to perform oral prophylaxis was significantly correlated with swallowing and eating ability. Ninety-five percent of the subjects who were able to perform oral prophylaxis by themselves were included in the groups of independent, needing support, and needing care levels 1 and 2. 6. Medical doctors had little understanding of the necessity for home-visit dental treatment (1.1 %) and home-visit dental hygiene instruction (0.8% ).
