2021 Volume 25 Issue 1 Pages 86-93
The objectives of this study were to identify the factors underlying difficulties experienced by the Community General Support Center staff in responding to user consultations after the commencement of the “preventing long-term care/livelihood support service projects,” and to investigate how staff members are coped with those difficulties. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 staff members from seven Community General Support Centers in Japan, and the collected data were analyzed using qualitative and descriptive methods. The results revealed that, while the Community General Support Centers provided staff with consultation guidelines and policies, staff members reported the following difficulties: “Lack of information about user conditions and living situations,” “Difficulty in predicting progression of dementia,” “Gap between user’s or user family’s hopes and professional judgements,” and “Gap between the thoughts of users and those of their families.” The staff members addressed these issues through the following coping mechanisms: “Understanding user conditions and living situations,” “Visiting users with other professionals to discuss and manage each case,” “Addressing issues internally within a center,” “Holding discussions in an individual care meeting,” and “Applying for both project support and a Certification of Needed Long Term Care.” These findings suggest that Community General Support Center staff need to utilize the services of related organizations and professionals. They also indicate that support systems need to be constructed for Center staff members who respond to consultations, in order to improve their consultation procedures.
