A demographic description of caregivers in Sapporo Japan : male caregivers are here to stay

The population of elderly in Japan continues to grow as advances in health care are supporting longer living. In traditional Japanese culture, as people age and become frail, they most often continue to live at home and are cared for by family. However, recently the birth rate in Japan has decreased dramatically, and the nuclear family has become standard. Therefore, caregivers often have to take care of the frail elderly without any help because other relatives live in distant places and are unable to help in caring for the frail elderly. The present study aimed to investigate who the caregivers are and the demographic characteristics of caregivers, including the percentage using home health nursing support for their loved ones. Specific focus was on the characteristics and needs of men providing caregiving. Seventy one dyads of caregiver and patient were examined. Differences were found between caregivers' gender. Male caregivers were more likely to be older (p