Supporting Self-Reliance

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."

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.