Changes in social participation and life-space mobility in newly enrolled home-based rehabilitation users over 6 months.

[Purpose] This study aimed to examine whether we were able to measure changes in social participation and life-space mobility of newly enrolled home-based rehabilitation (HR) users by using the activities and participation components of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) and Life-Space Assessment (LSA) over a 6-months period. [Participants and Methods] We enrolled 47 HR users who had suffered from a stroke or other condition within the previous year. A 6-month prospective cohort study was conducted.

[The impact of support from medical professionals on families' decision-making during end-of-life care].

Families are involved in decision-making regarding end-of-life (EOL) care in Japan. However, how support from medical professionals toward families' decision-making affects families' satisfaction with EOL care has not been adequately studied. We aimed to examine the impact of support from medical professionals considering the care recipients' preferences on families' overall satisfaction with EOL care and the mediating effect of fulfilling care recipients' preferences.

[Factors related to parent-child communication about end-of-life care -A survey of adult children with an elderly parent].

Aim: In Japan, because adult children are expected to perform a key role in decision-making on end-of-life care for older adults, conversing with parents on their wished-for end-of-life care can help these children to become prepared for this filial responsibility. Our aim in this study was to explore how likely Japanese adult children were to discuss end-of-life care with their parents as well as correlates of such discussions.

Methods: We conducted an online survey using a sample of 1,590 adult children with at least one living parent aged 65 or older.

Verbal communication of families with cancer patients at end of life: A questionnaire survey with bereaved family members.

Objective: To clarify the verbal communication of feelings between families and patients in Japanese palliative care units from the perspective of bereaved family members by examining (1) proportions of families' and patients' verbalization of six feelings (gratitude, love, seeking forgiveness, giving forgiveness, wishes after death, and continuing bonds), (2) recognition of receiving these feelings through verbalization from the family's perspective, and (3) the specific attitudes of family members that influence their verbalizations.

Methods: In 2010, a cross-sectional survey was conducted with 968 bereaved families of cancer patients in palliative care units across Japan.

Results: Five hundred thirty-seven responses were analyzed.

Reconsidering long-term care in the end-of-life context in Japan.

In this article, we propose expanding the scope of long-term care such that it involves caring for dying individuals; that is, end-of-life care. In doing so, we identify challenges that families and care/medical professionals face in attempts to design and provide end-of-life care under Japan's societal contexts. Because of the difficulty judging whether an individual is in an end-of-life phase, as well as a growing number of older adults who are unable to communicate their care preferences as a result of cognitive impairment, efforts were almost automatically made to prolong older patients' lives.

[Communication with important others regarding their preferences for end-of-life care].

Aim: Our aim in this study was to explore individual factors that make it likely for Japanese older adults to engage in communication with important other persons regarding their preferences for end-of-life care.

Methods: We conducted a questionnaire survey of outpatients at Tokyo Metropolitan Geriatric Hospital in the last six days of March 2012. Nine-hundred and sixty-eight outpatients consented in writing to participate in this survey.