Towards a Better Perspective on Elderly Care: A Case Study

Abstract

The percentage of the elderly is increasing on a worldwide scale, and Japan has the highest in the world. Under this difficult demographic situation, how well the elderly can live their later lives is a very important question. The purpose of this study was to find out how the elderly in good health can envisage their future lives in which they need care from others, which may help the elderly make their own care-plans. I conducted semi-structured interviews with one married elderly couple, who had had various experiences of caring for their old parents. While recalling their old days when they used to care for their parents, they were also asked to envisage their own future lives, in which they will need care from others. Based on qualitative descriptive analyses of their interview data, a highly individual care-plan emerged for each study participant. It was suggested that the ways their old parents lived in their later lives, as well as their experiences of caring for them, were strongly reflected in their own future care-plans. In order to envisage one’s realistic future in which he/she needs care from others, concrete experience of relevance may be necessary, which would make it possible to discuss frequently his/her own future life with family, friends, and medical providers.