1996 Volume 47 Issue 11 Pages 1119-1125
The aged with homehelp services at home and homehelps in Miyazaki Prefecture were investigated with a view to helping provide improved dwelling environment and support services for the increasing number of the aged receiving care at home. In this paper, the results of a survey of homehelps will be reported.
1) Varied are the range of work offered by homehelps. They may have to intervene in the human relations between the aged to care and the families of the aged; they may have to deal with emergencies that may occur while not in direct contact with the aged; they look after the health and diet of the aged; and homehelps are the ones who feel the need to improve the dwelling environment of the aged. The issues just cited are identical to the problems raised in the survey of the aged. Furthermore, homehelps have thier own problems, most of which cannot be solved by homehelps alone.
2) Homehelps are not only proud of but also dedicated to their work. They, however, need their working conditions improved and their job socially recognized. They also want fuller in-service training. As a result, recommended are the participation of experts in the welfare services for the aged at home, the complementary relationship between the public and the private sectors in terms of welfare services, and the provision of comprehensive networks and systems connected to the aged who need care at home.
