To clarify the proposed support of home care in elderly-only households in a rural area in Japan, we analyzed the actual supplies of long-term care insurance services in February 2002. The insurance benefit receivers were classified into the following three categories: the aged living alone, elderly-only households and other kinds of household. Participating in this study were 502 users of long-term care insurance services (males; 160, females; 342, average age; 83, range; 54-100) in Asuke town, Shimoyama village, Asahi town and Inabu town in Aichi prefecture.
In the 502 subjects, 79 lived alone, 82 in the elderly-only households, 341 in other kinds of household. Among them, there were no remarkable differences in the degree of necessity of long-term care. However, those who received various types of home services were 37 (46.8%) in the aged living alone, 62 (75.6%) in the elderly-only households, and 262 (75.6%) other kinds of household.
In the aged living alone category, the number of those who received home services decreased rapidly as the conditions requiring nursing care were aggravated. However, in the elderly-only households and other kinds of household, the rate of home care remained almost the same even if the classification of the conditions requiring care was changed.
Comparing the kinds of home services between elderly-only household and other kind of household, the rate of receiving home-visit nursing increased as the severity in the degree of necessity of long-term care became severes. On the other hand, the rate of commuting for day care decreased in other kinds of household but high in the elderlyonly households.
These findings revealed that most of the care receivers in the elderly-only households were provided home care on a long-term basis by receiving home-visit nursing which reduces the anxiety of patients and their families and that commuting for day care that relieves families was popular in these rural communities.