Possibilities for Social Support in a Medicalized Society

A Case Study of Home-Palliative Care in Miyagi Prefecture

Abstract

Palliative care has not only medicalized death, but also pain. Palliative care, which cares for total pain, is aggressively expanding its scope of coverage and creating new approaches to support. One such example is the Honaminosato Clinic, which not only provides home-palliative care for terminally ill patients, but also engages in a variety of other practices in the community. One such practice is the “Oppisan Club”. The members of the Oppisan Club were elderly people suffering from mild dementia. The Oppisan Club was active as a volunteer and a member of the care team. What these examples suggest is a different kind of medical care than that which manages patients by assigning them to the sick role. In the future, medical care with the imagination of home-palliative care will support various support related to the quality of life in the local community.