As you might know, I like to take a look at what other countries and cultures do as far as senior care goes from time to time. While here in the United States we do a great job when it comes to taking care of our elderly loved ones, it would be foolish to believe that our methods are the best or that they are perfect. By looking at what others do, we can come up with strong ideas so that we can provide a better level of care to the people that we care about. That’s why today I wanted to look at a trend that is occurring most prominently in Japan right now. While it might not be perfect, it can act as an idea for you and me to look at so in the future we can provide better care for our families.
What is happening is that elderly individuals are working in and living in nursing home facilities, even though they don’t need care themselves. Because seniors don’t receive much in terms of what would be the equivalent of Social Security income in Japan, spots have begun opening up so that even if you don’t need to stay in a nursing home, you can receive assistance by volunteering to work in one–even if you are a senior citizen yourself. Because these individuals are older themselves, they have a unique way of helping their peers that younger caregivers cannot yet identify with, no matter how well intentioned and knowledgeable they might be.
And this is necessary, in many ways. More than 20 percent of Japan’s population is above the age of 65. This makes Japan one of the oldest countries in the world.
In reality, this is already occurring in the United States in some ways. When you think about who the primary caregiver is in many family care situations, it is often an elderly spouse caring for their husband or wife. The difference between what’s happening in Japan and the United States is that in Japan, this is done in a more institutionalized way. We might give the term “institutionalized” a negative connotation, but it doesn’t need to be a bad thing. In fact, because of the support that Japan as a country gives family caregivers, it’s actually a really good thing. Family and peer care is associated with love and compassion. Under the protection of an institutionalized setting, that love and compassion has more resources, funding, and training at its disposal. The close feel of family care has more safeguards thanks to that institutionalization. The end result is that those in need have a higher quality of care than they would otherwise.
Is this easily transferred into the United States? Probably not. But that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t provide some goals that we can work toward. Family caregivers, if given the proper training and resources, can help their elderly loved ones have a great senior care experience. That’s not something that we often think about, but senior care shouldn’t be a horrible experience. A compassionate caregiver can often make a world of difference.
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