Permalink : http://hdl.handle.net/2115/53311

KEYWORDS : long-term care, tube feeding, dementia, terminal care, palliative approach

People in Japan can benefit from the healthcare based on a universal public insurance system, while the average length of hospital stay is the longest in advanced countries. Most patients in the long-term care hospitals are the bedridden elderly living on tube feedings. Not only do the majority of the elderly have dementia; they generally have little chance of expressing their own words when they are offered life-prolonging treatments. The elderly may require a terminal care with a palliative approach when they are dying due to the ageing process, that is, not only as a consequence of an incurable disease.