Outline
Research Question:
How should Japanese family cope with stress of taking care of elderly?
Thesis Statement:
Japan should do more psychological care of elderly and their family.
1) Elderly should get opportunities to participate in society.
2) The good environment to support and care for family care-giver should be arranged.
Ⅰ. Introduction
A. Incident from stress of caring parents―A son killed his bedridden mother
B. Aging society
C. Thesis
Ⅱ．The cause of problem
A. Japanese cultural concept ― filial piety
→ lack of government support
B. Decrease of children’s number ― Increase of burden
C. Family cannot rely on other people because of lack of communication with relatives, neighbors or local community
Ⅲ. Importance of support system of elderly and their family
A. Role of government
B. Role of local community
C. Role of specialists
Ⅳ. Conclusion
A. Repeat thesis and main points
How should Japanese family cope with stress of taking care of the elderly?
In Japan, people had the value that they should respect parents or elderly. However, these days this behavior has been changing. Some serious incident is occurring about elderly. Serious problem about elderly is care-giver’s stress for caring an elderly person. A son killed his mother, who suffer from dementia and be taken care of by him for 10 years (“The reason the Koukoumusuko”). His stress for long nursing care made him murder.
Japan is known as a super-aging country. (Data)
People around them should help them to try to decrease care-givers stress. For this problem, government, local community and specialists play important roles. This essay will argue that Japan should do more psychological care of elderly and their family with following perspectives: 1) Elderly should get opportunities to participate in society. 2) The good environment to support and care for family care-giver should be arranged.
Ⅱ．Relationship between Elderly and their family
The causes of aging problems shown above are both Japanese traditional social system and change of society. In many cases, care-givers for elderly have stress of nursing care of elderly. For example, taking care of family does not have break because caregiver always with elderly in house (Nohara 12). However, it is regarded as natural for people to take care of their family (Nohara 10). In addition, taking care of elderly is sometimes hopeless because the death of elderly is waiting.
In the current society, children’s number is decreasing. As a result, children have more burdens. For example, if there are three children in one family, they can take care of their parents, sharing burden. However, if there is only one child in a family, the case more likely to the current situation, he or she has to have all burden alone. In addition, in Japan, people still have the image of role, men work outside and women work at home. From this stereotype thinking, Japanese women have to invisible responsibility to take care of family at home in addition to working outside. According to Tsuno & Homa, 85% of care-givers for elderly are women(10). In addition, because of aging society, “not only the number of elderly requiring assistance but also the age of the family(Tsuno&Homa 10)”.
In the current society, communication with neighbors or local society is decreasing. In 2010, a survey was done to the elderly in 5 countries, America, Sweden, Korea, Germany and Japan, by Japanese government. According to it, the rate of the elderly, who have friends or neighbors, who they can depend on is the lowest in 5 countries (Japan). In addition, the rate of the elderly who have few opportunities to associate with neighbors in a week is the highest (Japan). As a result, care-givers cannot share their stress with other people.
However, in the bottom of these reasons, Japanese traditional concept about family is hidden. In Japan, the assumption that people have to take care of their elderly family exists because “the Confucian principle of filial piety and the respect accorded the elderly” (Kingston 291). People think it is virtue and responsibility to take care of their parents. In addition, in Japan, people have the thinking of self-sacrifice and sustain harmony especially in outside (Mcdaniel 2, 5). As a result, people avoid to express their own stress to others and hesitate to talk about domestic matters in outside. From these reasons, care-givers in family have big stress.
Ⅲ. Importance of support system of elderly and their family
It is sure that the solution which care-givers want to have is different among each person. However, to decrease care-givers’ burden, making solution to psychological stress which they cannot talk over is important. In addition, elderly care tends to be limited in house and have less opportunities to communicate with people besides their family members. As a result, family tends to feel more serious like when thinking problem alone and relationship between elderly and care-givers often becomes worse. Thus, not to isolate from society, communication in society should be thought much. For the solution, government, local community and specialist play important roles.
First, government can set large-scale system of support elderly and care-givers.
For example, Gold Plan, which shows goal of theoretical system is made by government. However, “Although all public services are theoretically available nationwide, actual availability of services in Tokyo in 1997 varied by district depending upon both the tax resources of the area and the foresight of local social welfare administrators”(Jenike 182). “Even if accepted into the social welfare program, there are one- year waiting lists for day care, and two- to four-year waits for nursing homes within Tokyo wards and cities.(Jenike 182)” As actual case, according to Tabei, the head of nursing house in Musashinoshi, Oyanoie, there are 300 hundreds people who is waiting care by Oyanoie though the capacity of the elderly is only 40 people. Thus, government should make more specific aim for solution such as guideline for local community.
Second, local community can play the role which government cannot fill because local community is closest with family. Local community should do glass-roots efforts not to isolate the elderly and their family from society. For example, community centers or nursing home have some events, such as free markets or tea parties to communicate with the elderly and their family.
Finally, specialists who have technological knowledge of taking care of elderly can give stress-coping strategy for care-givers. In specific, local care managers held training course for family care-givers to show how to communicate well with the elderly.
Ⅳ. Conclusion
As shown above, there are many reasons for stress of elderly care in house in perspectives of cultural background and social change. Thus, Japan have to think much of supports for care-givers.
Works Cited
・Survey of Japanese government about aging society
・Seiseidoudou ganbaranai kaigo/ Nohara Sumire
・Demographic change and the family in Japan's aging society / editor John W. Traphagan
and John Knight. /Traphagan, John W. Knight, John,(1960-)/2003
・Japan's quiet transformation : social change and civil society in the twenty-first
century / Jeff Kingston/2004
・Japanese Nonverbal Communication/Mc Daniel from ELP Reader
・Direction of Health and Welfare Policies for
the Elderly over the Next Five Years
－Gold Plan 21－
the Elderly over the Next Five Years
－Gold Plan 21－
・Ageing in Asia—The Japan Experience/Norifumi Tsuno & Akira Homma
・Interview to Tabei Toshiaki, the head of Oyanoie
0 件のコメント:
コメントを投稿