A Study on the Establishment & Functional Characteristics of Health Facilities for the Aged in Japan

Various housing measures are needed for the rapidly aging society of Korea. In particular, the welfare policy for the elderly has changed towards the community care. Taking this fact into consideration, it is necessary to have the establishment of a system that offers the elderly appropriate welfare services at their appropriate residence (ageing in place) for the effectiveness of the community care. In this aspect, there are a number of implications to Korea to study merits and demerits of the Health Facilities for the Aged (HFA) in Japan. The society of Japan has been rapidly aging since 1970, and Korea is to face the same situation. As for the data of this study, a total of 2,393 facilities (as of November 1999) mentioned in the annual report of the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare were classified based on types of their establishment: (1) free-standing structures (603 facilities); (2) annexes to hospitals (981 facilities); (3) annexes to welfare facilities (511 facilities); and (4) annexes to clinics (298 facilities). Next, 239 facilities were selected through taking a sample of 10 percent from each type of the HFA mentioned above. This was done through the random sampling method with the computer program of MS EXCEL. The Implications of the results of analyses are as follows. First, most of the health facilities were planned with the scale that was larger than the scale of standard special nursing homes in terms of the total floor area. Precise equations that were to obtain precise results of the scale of the HFA and the appropriate number of residents were obtained through the method of the regression analysis. Korea and Japan have similarities in terms of culture, society and family relations; however, the two countries also have differences in terms of the application of laws on the establishment of houses, hospitals, and welfare facilities. As for planning the scale of the HFA, the realities of Korea should be considered. Second, as for the functional aspect of the HFA with a condition of returning home, the place before and after the HFA showed the pattern of 'from a residential place to a residential place' and 'from a hospital to a hospital.' This reveals a close correlation with the types of the HFAs and operational ways of the facilities. Its cause is considered to be the aspect of the operation and management of the HFA rather than the aspect of its function of providing services in association with medical and health facilities. Therefore, when intermediate welfare facilities are considered in Korea, it is strongly advised to consider the problem of annexes to other facilities and efficiency of sharing of the facilities in terms of its operation and management.