Supporting Self-Reliance

As people in Asia enjoy increasingly longer lives, the challenge of maintaining or restoring physical and mental functions—and assisting people when those functions begin to deteriorate—has become more critical. Discover innovative approaches that help seniors and caregivers overcome these challenges.

Organization: Shanghai Jinmei Care for the Elderly
Location: Shanghai, China
In China, although an estimated 10 million people are affected by dementia, awareness and understanding of the disease has lagged. Jinmei Care is working to change that by creating “Memory Homes”—community-based physical spaces where social workers provide those with dementia and their families with professional support. They also promote greater public understanding and help destigmatize dementia through the creation of a Memory Café and a volunteer network of “Dementia-Friends."
Organization: Takarazuka City Collaborative Community-Building Council
Location: Takarazuka City, Japan
This local government matches healthy older people who want to work with nursing care and daycare centers, which are suffering from personnel shortages. Participants handle light tasks for a 3-month trial period and can continue to work if they so choose. The trial period lowers the hurdle to participation and the work gives participants a sense of being needed by society.
Organization: Hatachi Industry, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, and Kosai Consultants
Location: Thailand and Japan
Hatachi Industry has worked in close collaboration with Thai partners to transfer their know-how for a preventative care system that can meet the needs of older Thai people. The program has been particularly effective at identifying and supporting frail older people who may soon require nursing care.
Organization: Taiseikai Group
Location: Japan
The Taiseikai Group, a medical corporation in Japan, has been committed since 2002 to protecting the dignity and health of people with dementia through “Taisekei Style” care—using zero physical restraints in their facilities and instead combining care content and supportive methods to alleviate behavioral disorders associated with dementia.
Organization: Komagane City
Location: Japan
The city of Komagane has partnered with the Showa Inan General Hospital on an initiative to help mild stroke patients better manage their health to prevent recurrence. Skilled professionals start working with patients and their families during their hospitalization, engaging them in their own health goal setting and management and then consulting with them for the first year following their discharge.
Organization: Vietnam Association of the Elderly (VAE)
Location: Vietnam
The Vietnam Association of the Elderly has created a program to offer free vision screenings and counseling and to provide glasses and cataract operations to older people in need in order to decrease their need for care. Older people are not only the beneficiaries but also a major source of donations for this program.
Organization: Korea Association of Senior Welfare Centers (KASWC)
Location: South Korea
The KB Good Memory School is a research-based dementia prevention program offered at nearly 100 senior welfare centers across Korea. The program also enhances public awareness about dementia prevention.
Organization: Mori no Kaze–Uehara
Location: Japan
With the aging of Japanese society, the number of seniors who require constant caregiving has grown, as has the number of publicly operated long-term care facilities. One such facility is helping seniors lead an independent life by providing a variety of support services that allows the elderly to age in place.

AHWIN will be expanding this section continuously to include services, products, and initiatives from throughout Asia that could be useful or instructive for others in the region and the world. Check back again soon to read new cases and to learn how you can make recommendations.

Disclaimer: The introduction of organizations and products on this website is for reference purposes only and does not imply any recommendation or endorsement on the part of ERIA, JCIE, or the Japanese government.