Long-term Care of Dementia

In the year 2008, the Korean government has launched the long-term care insurance, which has served much of social service needs of the disabled elderly people. However, there are some problems in the insurance about the care for the subjects with dementia. First, many of the subjects with advanced dementia get lower grades by the assessment system. Second, care workers are not well educated for the management of dementia. Third, the institutions are not well designed for subjects with dementia. Fourth, the medical and social services for dementia are somewhat separated from each other. To overcome these problems, the following efforts need to be implemented. First, the assessment procedure should be revised so that the severity of the dementia can be measured more accurately. Second, the training system of the care workers should be refined. The education about the methods of dealing with the dementia patients should be part of the training. Third, the buildings of the institutions should be changed, for example, to include more one rooms. Forth, the medical and social services for dementia should be integrated. Through these efforts, the long-term care insurance will be developed to serve more of the needs of the dementia subjects and their family members.