Abstract
1. The increase of patients. At present there are approximately one million people suffering from age-associated dementia in Japan. In the future this number is expected to grow substantially. By the year 2035,the number of patients is expected to be around 3. 12 million. As the population of senior citizens increases, the occurance of this sickness will also increase. Therefore, we must give serious consideration to a comprehensive approach to caring for these people. 2. Dealing with maladjustment. Presently, 75% of patients with age-associated dementia are cared for at home. Therefore, we must look at a care system from a point of view which includes support for family members. The main focus of a care system is how to deal with these patients' maladjustment to daily life. In many cases the maladjustment is caused by various stresses which occur due to intellectual impairment. Therefore, it is vitally important to remove the various stresses by improving the environment in which the patients live. Furthermore, it is important that all kinds of people take part in caring for these patients as much as possible which helps to create a better quality of life for them. 3. Supporting family caregivers. In caring for people with age-associated dementia at home, family caregivers face problems such as feelings of stress, anxiety, and the feeling of being overburdened. The purpose of providing support to these caregivers is to lighten or remove these negative feelings. Family support also aims to help the caregivers maintain their own health and prevent them from becoming isolated. Social services or counseling may provide useful help to these family caregivers. A family member who single-handedly looks after a patient with age-associated dementia usually needs family counseling which provides comfort and the opportunity to exchange information with other families . 4. The most effective treatment. At the present time, an absolute treatment for people suffering from this sickness has not been developed. Therefore, support for these patients and for their family members who care for them is quite limited. The most effective way to deal with these cases is to recognize the disease at a very early stage and then provide the most appropriate support and service to these people and their families.
