Learning elderly care from Japan

During the last years, Professor and Bettina S. Husebø at the Centre for Elderly and Nursing Home Medicine (SEFAS), University of Bergen, has developed collaboration with Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology in Japan.

From 7^th to 9^th May, SEFAS invited their Japanese collaborators to a conference to learn how to cope with elderly care and nursing home medicine from each other.

“Japan is really of high interest for Norway. They are 20 years in advance of the Norwegian society when it comes to cope with a high elderly population. They experience this now and have developed top notch research in the field,” says Husebø.

Japan, with 127 million inhabitants has experienced rapid changes in family structures due to a high percentage of old people during the last years. They have become forerunners in age related challenges and have developed a huge awareness of the challenges with elderly care Norway and other European countries will experience during the years to come.

“We have a very high focus on information and communications technology (ICT), smart technology and robotics to solve some of the age related challenges. I think this is a field Norway and other European countries could learn from Japan,” says Professor Shoji Shinkai at Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology.

“I think Japan could learn something about advance care planning, pain care and end-of-life care from Norway, “Bettina S. Husebø says.