[Aging problem in the home hospice care].

Home hospice care is not merely an extension of hospital-based medical care administered at the hospital, but refers to hospice care for patients with life-threatening diseases that can only be given at their homes. The rapid growth of the elderly population in Japan has led to not only the need for home hospice care, but also social problems such as living alone, living with only one elderly family member, and problems that are particularly acute in cancer patients with dementia. We analyzed data for 262 patients for whom home hospice care was provided by our clinic. Overall, elderly persons with dementia tended to request admission before death, but most elderly persons living alone preferred home hospice care. We found that 58% of the patients living with only one elderly family member requested admission before death, which was lower than the rate of the study group as a whole. We further performed an in-depth analysis of the current situation in order to improve home hospice care of terminally ill patients in Japan, focusing on problems related to the aging population.