[Objective]To investigate challenges to initiatives at long-term care service facilities and businesses in the first year following the introduction of the 2021 revisions to the long-term care fees and the ministerial ordinance making the establishment of a system to prevent elderly abuse mandatory. [Method] An online survey was conducted of facility directors and administrators at long-term care service facilities and businesses in three prefectures in the Tokai region. [Results] Relative to other long-term care service facilities and businesses, the long-term care welfare facilities for the elderly that were reviewed had significantly more cases in which an abuse-prevention review committee was held, and a significantly lower percentage of facilities having no system for care by multiple caregivers, no system for consulting with experts, or no abuse-prevention manual. However, relative to other facilities and businesses, a significantly higher percentage of these long-term care welfare facilities received administrative guidance in response to abuse, and a significantly lower percentage featured managers who participated in abuse-prevention training. [Conclusions] At long-term care welfare facilities for the elderly, where the incidence of abuse is often high, it is vital that managers be encouraged to attend training sessions to strengthen initiatives that are at risk of becoming mere formalities and that all staff members come to share a common understanding of abuse and its prevention.

[Objective] This study investigates the professional autonomy of certified care workers and the factors that affect it. [Method] An anonymous self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted with 2,000 certified care workers in 400 special nursing-care homes for the aged. Applying a professional autonomy scale for certified care workers, relationships with demographic characteristics and job satisfaction were analyzed. [Result] The analysis targeted 318 people (178 women and 140 men). They featured significant differences in terms of their professional autonomy in relation to their gender and years of experience in the care and welfare profession. A logistic regression analysis showed that female respondents’ professional autonomy was 2.405 times that of male respondents; likewise, it was also 5.823 times higher for respondents with 25–29 years of experience than those with less work experience, and it was 7.040 times higher for respondents with than those without high job satisfaction. [Conclusion] These findings suggest that the professional autonomy of certified care workers may be affected by gender, experience working as a care worker, and job satisfaction. The professional autonomy of certified care workers is particularly high in workers with the following characteristics: female gender, having a longer work experience as care workers, and being satisfied with the job.

[Background and Purpose] Elder abuse is among the most important issues faced in the caregiving field, and work has already begun on finding solutions to it, with foreign and Japanese professionals working together in Japanese caregiving. However, many uncertainties remain with regard to their recognition of elder abuse. We sought to identify factors to explain the recognition of elder abuse among international students and Japanese students who specialize in caregiving welfare. [Methods] Elder abuse recognition was taken as the dependent variable, while explicit attitudes, implicit attitudes, the experience of living with grandparents, and nationality were taken as explanatory variables. A multiple regression analysis was conducted. [Results] The recognition of elder abuse was correlated with nationality. Moreover, students from other countries scored significantly higher than Japanese students in terms of the explicit and implicit attitudes toward the elderly, which suggests that international students could be more sensitive to recognizing elder abuse than Japanese students. [Conclusion] Our data shed light on the recognition of elder abuse among caregiving and social welfare students and implies that concerns regarding troubles between foreigners and the elderly, as have been put forward by previous studies of elder abuse, could be minimal.

[Objective] This study clarifies the factors related to self-reflection in certified care workers. [Method] A self-administered questionnaire was sent to 1020 certified care workers working in nursing homes. A multiple regression analysis was performed with self-reflection by certified care workers as the dependent variable and in-depth study by independence thinking oneself, positive work environment, gender, and work experience as the independent variables. The analysis was performed using SPSS version 24. [Result] The response rate was 30.5% (308). It was found that in-depth study by independent thinking (t values=8.63) and positive work environment (t values=8.63) were related to self-reflection by certified care workers. [Conclusion] In conclusion, this study found that a hypothetical consideration in which in-depth study by independent thinking and a positive work environment significantly affected self-reflection by certified care workers.