This study was conducted to clarify the factors that contribute to the continuation of home nursing care. For this purpose, we interviewed family caregivers who had looked after dementia patients at home for more than one year. The patients had been judged to be in need of stage-2 nursing care or above. The interviewees were five family caregivers, sampled by a care support center and a visiting nurse station. They consented to be interviewed after receiving thorough information about the study. The underlying ideas which were regarded as the principal factors involved in continual caregiving from 125 codes they talked about were “a will to care obtained from persons receiving nursing care,” “a hunch that the patient's need would surely be met,” “the amount and quality of support,” “improvement of care techniques about peripheral conditions (complications?),” “acceptance of dementia,” “unpredictable response,” “difficulty in coping with peripheral conditions,” and “insufficient support in an emergency.” It was found that to continue nursing care at home, caregivers surmounted a host of obstables arising from “unpredictable response,” “difficulty in coping with peripheral conditions” and “insufficient support in an emergency” by dint of “acceptance of dementia” and “improvement of care techniques about peripheral conditions.” They were encouraged by “a will to care obtained from persons receiving nursing care” and “the quality and quantity of support” from other members of their families, relatives, neighbors and professionals. These were prime movers behind their efforts to get over the difficulties. They also had had “a hunch that the patient's need would surely be met,” which made them decide to continue home nursing care.

  This study was conducted to clarify the factors that contribute to the continuation of home nursing care. For this purpose, we interviewed family caregivers who had looked after dementia patients at home for more than one year. The patients had been judged to be in need of stage-2 nursing care or above. The interviewees were five family caregivers, sampled by a care support center and a visiting nurse station. They consented to be interviewed after receiving thorough information about the study. The underlying ideas which were regarded as the principal factors involved in continual caregiving from 125 codes they talked about were “a will to care obtained from persons receiving nursing care,” “a hunch that the patient's need would surely be met,” “the amount and quality of support,” “improvement of care techniques about peripheral conditions (complications?),” “acceptance of dementia,” “unpredictable response,” “difficulty in coping with peripheral conditions,” and “insufficient support in an emergency.” It was found that to continue nursing care at home, caregivers surmounted a host of obstables arising from “unpredictable response,” “difficulty in coping with peripheral conditions” and “insufficient support in an emergency” by dint of “acceptance of dementia” and “improvement of care techniques about peripheral conditions.” They were encouraged by “a will to care obtained from persons receiving nursing care” and “the quality and quantity of support” from other members of their families, relatives, neighbors and professionals. These were prime movers behind their efforts to get over the difficulties. They also had had “a hunch that the patient's need would surely be met,” which made them decide to continue home nursing care.

  This study was designed to explore what would make it possible for old people with moderately severe dementia to receive health care in their homes. For this purpose, a questionnaire survey was conducted on the cases of patients who had been given home care services for more than six months. A total of 97 cases (31 males and 66 female) were enrolled in this multilateral study. Of the total, 60 cases were admitted to facilities six months after the start of home care. As it turned out, the degree of cognitive decline was severer in those who had continued receiving home care than in those institutionalized. Ardent physicians and zealous care managers played a crucial role in sustaining home care services. Also indispensable were able, hardworking caregivers with profound knowledge of nursing care. The availability of nursing care insurance services, especially day services, short stay and regular visits by a physician and a nurse to patients in their homes might be necessary. Given all these things combined, it would be possible for people with moderately severe dementia to receive long-term home care services.

A follow-up study with multivariate analysis examined the relations of methods for selecting students, performance after admission, and scores on the national examinations for medical technologists and for nurse practitioners. The subjects were 247 students who had entered the division of laboratory medicine at the School of Allied Health Sciences, Yamaguchi University, from 1995 through 2000 and 484 students who had entered the division of nursing during the same period. Scores on examinations at the School of Allied Health Sciences and on national professional examinations did not differ between students who had been admitted on the basis of recommendations from high school principals (including an interview) and students who had been admitted on the basis of an open entrance examination (also including an interview). However, questions remained about the legitimacy of the high school records of students admitted on the basis of recommendations from high school principals but not of students admitted on the basis of an open entrance examination. Furthermore, the relevance of the interview during the open entrance examination for medical technologists and nurses was not recognized. In addition, for medical technology students who had been admitted on the basis of open entrance examinations, we found that scores on the national examination were correlated with the scores on the entrance examination and with their grades at the School of Allied Health Sciences.

  This study was designed to explore what would make it possible for old people with moderately severe dementia to receive health care in their homes. For this purpose, a questionnaire survey was conducted on the cases of patients who had been given home care services for more than six months. A total of 97 cases (31 males and 66 female) were enrolled in this multilateral study. Of the total, 60 cases were admitted to facilities six months after the start of home care. As it turned out, the degree of cognitive decline was severer in those who had continued receiving home care than in those institutionalized. Ardent physicians and zealous care managers played a crucial role in sustaining home care services. Also indispensable were able, hardworking caregivers with profound knowledge of nursing care. The availability of nursing care insurance services, especially day services, short stay and regular visits by a physician and a nurse to patients in their homes might be necessary. Given all these things combined, it would be possible for people with moderately severe dementia to receive long-term home care services.