Survey on Cross-Cultural Stress and Care Difficulties of Foreign Caregivers in Dementia Care Practice

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K13785
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 08020:Social welfare-related
• Research Institution: Suzuka University of Medical Science
• Principal Investigator: Moriyama Satoko 鈴鹿医療科学大学, 看護学部, 助教 (30751581)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 認知症ケア / 外国人介護士 / 異文化ストレス / ケア困難感 / 介護施設

Outline of Final Research Achievements

A questionnaire survey that include the General Health Questionnaire(GHQ)12 items in Japanese and sense of coherence(SOC) scale was administered to foreign care givers. Eighty-two care givers responded to the survey. There were sixty-four females and sixteen males, and the 20s and 30s accounted for 95.8% of the respondents.Their countries of origin were the Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia, in that order.Mental health scores were significantly lower for female respondents than for male respondents. The both of mental health and stress coping skills were significantly lower among those who were not licensed caregivers and those who had difficulty understanding the behavior of older adults with dementia.There were no significant differences by country of origin or status of residence.The study results suggested that considerations of their gender, support for caregiver certification and improvement of care skills for dementia should be required for foreign caregivers.

Free Research Field

高齢看護学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

介護人材不足の日本において、外国人介護士は重要な介護人材である。外国人介護士が異文化である日本の介護施設にうまく適応し、精神的健康を保ちながら働き続けられることで、よりよいケア実践につながり、日本の高齢者ケアの質の担保につながると考えられる。本研究では、介護福祉士資格の有無、認知症高齢者に対するケア困難感が精神的健康に影響することが示唆された。今後も増え続ける外国人介護士が、認知症の行動・心理症状に対する理解や対応方法を早期に習得し、日本人高齢者のニーズに合ったケアが提供できるよう効果的な教育方法について検討していくことが望まれる。