Empirical Research on Role of "Family Caregivers" in the Home-Care-Service System

1999 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

• Project/Area Number: 10610202
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: 社会学(含社会福祉関係)
• Research Institution: NIHON FUKUSHI UNIVERSITY
• Principal Investigator: GOTO Sumie NIHON FUKUSHI UNIVERSITY,DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL WELFARE, PROFESSOR, 社会福祉学部, 教授 (60247674)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): ITIE Kazuko JAPANESE REDCROSS AICHI JUNIOR COLLEGE, DEPARTMENT OF NURSING, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, 看護学科, 助教授 (00279994)
• Project Period (FY): 1998 – 1999
• Keywords: HOME - CARE SERVICE / FAMILY CAREGIVER / FAMILY FUNCTION / HOME - VISIT NURSE / DISABLED ELDERLY PEOPLE

Research Abstract

Here, we theoretically and empirically discuss the role of "family caregivers" in the home-care-service system, based on a new understanding that the cooperation between family and society is strongly requested in the care of the elderly people with disabilities. This is different from the conventional discussion of whether the care works for these elderly people should be done by the family or by the society.
First, we reviewed and summarized the previous domestic researches on family care in the fields of sociology and science of nursing, specifically taking into account the relation between family caregivers and home-care service. From this result, we could realize the future research needs and also could get the suggestions on how to support the family caregivers.
Second, we carried out two types of field surveys. One is a survey on the daily life of home-visit-nurse-service users and their family-care givers. The other is survey on the cooperation between family-care givers and home-visit nurses. It was observed from these surveys that this cooperation is useful to remove the uneasiness and the difficulty of family-care givers and consequently makes it possible for them to continue the family care.