Sociological/social welfare research of long-distance caregiving : Elucidation on the way of care to respect the elderly's will

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17K04195
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Social welfare and social work studies
• Research Institution: Utsunomiya University
• Principal Investigator: Nakagawa Atsushi 宇都宮大学, 地域デザイン科学部, 准教授 (30609904)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 遠距離介護 / 会話分析

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Methods of care that respect the elderly, "asking the elderly about their wishes" and "speaking for the elderly" were used. In this process, the proposal was modified to a form that was acceptable to the both parties (welfare supporters/family members living apart from the elderly).　It was also found that in most cases, the parents were involved in the decision-making process only after the care manager and the child had reached an agreement on the decision-making process. This was done in order to involve the parents, whose cognitive abilities were declining, in the decision-making process, and to design a speech order in the form of yes-no questions that reflected the decision-making process of the child and the care manager and facilitate the parents' responses.

Free Research Field

高齢社会学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は、遠距離介護の中で高齢者本人の意思を尊重したケアを実現するための人々の方法を、「会話分析」のアプローチから明らかにするものであった。遠距離介護において離れて暮らす子供たちは、自らの身体的・経済的限界や、福祉サービスの限界などと、高齢者本人が望む生活の実現の間で常に揺れ動いている。こうした中で、高齢者本人の意思を尊重したケアがいかなる方法で実現されているのかを解明した本研究成果は、遠距離介護の困難軽減につながる重要の知見となるものである。