JS-47.4
Policy and Practice Of Dementia Care - Comparing Japan and Sweden/Norway
Background: The trend towards aging populations is worldwide. Japan has the oldest population in the world, the Nordic countries have almost the same figures. Increased rate of dementia goes along with expanded life span, and dementia diseases are predicted to be one of the most prominent future public health threats. In this session, results from an ongoing study on dementia care will be presented. Findings so far indicate for instance that dementia care in both countries is highly person-centered, but also with differences in emotional nearness between users and staff.
Aim: To compare policy and practice of dementia care in Japan and Sweden/Norway from macro/national and micro level perspectives, using mixed methods.
Method: Comparative study on macro/national level concerning: 1) historical background, 2) statistics on dementia prevalence and distribution, 3) legislation, 4) health and care organization, 5) economics, 6) ideological base (emphasizing medical vs social aspects ), and 6) methods of scrutinization/diagnosis. Official statistics and national documents will be analysed, the latter through comparative discourse analysis. In addition, personal interviews with experts and central politicians will complement and deepen the data material. Comparative studies on micro level will be designed as case-studies in 4 settings of dementia care: special housing, long-term hospitals, day care activities and group homes. Prominent aspects of comparison will be 1) physical conditions, 2) staff parameters, 3) content of care/daily activities, 4) relations between users and staff, 5) emotional atmosphere. Data will be collected through interviews and observations, and analysed via comparative case study method and qualitative content analysis.
Results: The results will be presented as statistics, discourse analysis, case descriptions and qualitative content analysis. Comparison between Japan and Sweden/Norway, and comparison of macro and micro level will be four integrated aspects of the result presentation.