著者

高波 千代子

出版者

北海道大学公共政策大学院

雑誌

年報 公共政策学

巻号頁・発行日

vol.7, pp.291-307, 2013-05-17

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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.