End-of-life care management for older adults at home by multidisciplinary professionals in Japan

Background

Population aging is a global phenomenon, and there is an urgent need to establish community-based integrated care systems for a sustainable society. In particular, the needs of home-dwelling older adults are multifaceted, encompassing areas such as medical care, nursing care, and welfare. Therefore, it is necessary to implement comprehensive care management that utilizes social resources suitable for diverse needs. This study aims to comprehensively describe care management practices by various professionals for home-dwelling older adults in the end-of-life (EOL) period.

Methods

This study adopted a qualitative analysis method using conventional content analysis. We conducted semi-structured interviews of 20 multidisciplinary professionals from February to March 2020.

Results

Multidisciplinary professionals ensured continuity of care by implementing care management as necessary when providing care to older adults who desired to stay at home until the end. Seven categories of EOL care management practices for home-dwelling older adults by multidisciplinary professionals were generated: (1) support to enable discharge to home; (2) decision-making support that captures the intention of the older adult without missing opportunities; (3) building a team system to realize the desired life and EOL; (4) family support for the entirety of the EOL period, (5) symptom control aimed at the realization of wishes; (6) emotional support for acceptance of the EOL period; (7) spiritual support.

Conclusions

Multidisciplinary professionals, including care managers, collaborating in a mutually complementary manner by sharing a comprehensive understanding of care management might prevent knowledge fragmentation and ensure that older adults receive home-based EOL care.