2019 Volume 41 Issue 3 Pages 278-291
The study aimed to investigate whether medical services, in-home care services and home care services were associated with choice consciousness concerning the place of end-of-life care for frail older persons at home by Japanese and South Korean family caregivers.
The data included 946 Japanese and 584 Korean family caregivers giving support to their frail older family members at home in Japan and South Korea. The investigation method was to conduct drop off and pick up surveys in Japan and face-to-face interviews in Korea.
The results of this analysis indicated that Japanese family caregivers with home-visiting nursing service had made a significant and conscious choice for home as the place of end-of-life care(OR=2.11)and there was a significant negative association between home-visiting nursing services and home as the place of end-of-life care in Korea(OR=0.37). Among Korean family caregivers who received many different types of care service by care workers (OR=0.92) there was a significant and negatively correlated conscious choice of home as the place of end-of-life care for frail older persons. Additionally, among Japanese family caregivers who used short-term stay services (OR=0.68) and Korean family caregivers who received more emotional support by the care workers (OR=0.69) there was a significant and negatively correlated conscious choice of home as the place of end-of-life care.
The above results of this comparative study of Japanese and South Koreans suggest that Japanese with access to medical services were more likely to make a conscious choice of home as the place of end-of-life care for frail older persons than in Korea. However, those receiving home care services were less likely to consciously choose home as the place of end-of-life care for frail older persons both in Japan and Korean. These trends may be related to the differences between Japan and Korea in public long-term care insurance and public health insurance.
