Abstract
In today’s world, owing to advancements in medical science, various diseases have become treatable and people can live longer. As a result, a large number of elderly people are living with disabilities in communities. On the other hand, the family system has changed and the capability of family members to provide support for the elderly has decreased. Cutting-edge issues in contemporary care include 1) how to establish ways to live with persons with disorders and disabilities, 2) how to implement a decision-making support system for person-centered care, and 3) how to improve the quality of life and the quality of death. One-sided, one-size-fits-all care in institutions will disappear in the near future. In this report, we present practices by and evidence from a) community care farms in collaboration with medical institutions, b) a pilot care farm in an urban setting, c) a pilot and cost-sustainable care farm within a medical institution, d) care farms that start immediately after dementia diagnosis, and e) care farms in a large urban housing complex. Because care farms are a pioneering area for the future, interdisciplinary research in agriculture, agricultural economics, psychology, medicine, social work, and occupational therapy needs to be promoted now.
