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Purpose: The study examined the subjective life experiences of elderly first-generation Korean women living in Japan and investigated their adjustment to the local Japanese community., Design: The study group comprised 14 elderly Korean women residents at a Korean-oriented, insurance-based, day services center in midwestern Japan. They were interviewed in depth, and the data were analyzed using the modified grounded theory approach., Findings: The study designated the core category as "conservation of ethnic identity" and identified five subcategories: (a) loneliness, (b) returning to one's homeland culture, (c) physical decline as a result of aging, (d) family ties, and (e) a place where one belongs., Conclusions: The results elucidated that although the participants had adapted to Japanese culture, they were strongly influenced by the memories of their hometowns and wished to return to their homeland., Implications: The study suggests that elderly immigrants need day care support that provides an environment where they can enjoy their culture.

Day-service, commuting service for elderly people requiring care at home, is one healthcare option in Japan. To date, however, there exist no studies that have examined the effects of day-service use on health outcomes in Japan. The objective of the present longitudinal study was to determine whether there is an association between day-service use and various physical and mental health outcomes in elderly people requiring care. The subjects were 61 elderly persons who required between 25 and 49 min of assistance per day and used long-term care insurance. Measurements included demographic characteristics, activities of daily living, frequency of day-service use, body weight, height, grip strength, thigh muscle volume, degree of depression (Geriatric Depression Scale), the mini-mental state examination, and serum albumin and blood hemoglobin levels in the baseline and follow-up surveys two years later. In the day-service user group, the mean changes in serum albumin concentrations using day-service once, twice and three < or = times/week were -0.2, -0.3, and 0 g/dl, respectively, and the mean changes in blood hemoglobin were -0.7, -0.5, and 0.2 g/dl, respectively. The two-year change in serum albumin concentrations was less (p = 0.024) in subjects using day-service "three < or = times" (0 g/dl) than "twice" (-0.3 g/dl). The two-year change in blood hemoglobin was also less (p = 0.043) in subjects using day-service "three < or = times" (0.2 g/dl) than "twice" (-0.5 g/dl). The present study has shown that frequent use of day-service is useful in maintaining general nutritional status in elderly people.

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of a day treatment program with a comprehensive team approach for treating outpatients with acquired brain injury, which is offered by the Kanagawa Rehabilitation Hospital., Design: Non-randomized controlled study., Subjects: Twenty-five program graduates and 12 control patients with acquired brain injury., Methods: A prospective study using 25 brain-injured patients with cognitive dysfunction who were provided with a comprehensive day treatment program at Kanagawa Rehabilitation Hospital. The 25 enrolled patients had treatment sessions lasting 2-4 hours for 2 days a week over a 3-6-month period. Functional Independence Measure/Functional Assessment Measure (FIM/FAM) and the Community Integration Questionnaire (CIQ) were administered before and after the program to compare outcomes between the 25 program participants and the 12 control patients who did not receive the day treatment program., Results: Significant improvements in speech intelligibility, problem solving, memory, attention and social integration scores in the FIM/FAM and scores in social integration and productive activity in the CIQ were evident in the enrolled subjects. In addition, 9 of the 25 patients returned to work or school., Conclusion: These results demonstrate the effectiveness of this program in helping to rehabilitate patients with acquired brain injury.

Eating disorders (ED) is an important cause of physical and psychological morbidity in 21st century mental health. Recent advances of day treatment for eating disorders in North America, Germany, and Australia advocate us to investigate the utility and possibility of the Day Hospital Program (DHP) in Japan. We reviewed previous reports and summarized the advantages and disadvantages of this approach. Also, we conducted a preliminary survey to clarify the detailed application of the DHP by sending a questionnaire to University hospitals, registered institutes of the Japanese Association of Psychosomatic Medicine, and prefectural mental health and welfare centers. The results revealed the strong need for the DHP for ED (about 75%), strong expectations to link hospitalization and outpatient treatment, and the strong possibility of a multimodal approach. The survey showed the importance of CBT, psychoeducation, and other modalities including nutritional education, exercise, or the family approach. Various types of structures were proposed concerning the duration of a session or treatment (half day and 2 or 3 times a week) and numbers of members (about 6 to 10). Over 75% of the participants answered regardless of the inclusion of diagnostic criteria, which exceeded our expectations. Economic background is one of the problems left pending. Based on the data, we discussed the potential and problems of the DHP in Japan.