Human Ecology Research

The Korean Home Economics Association (대한가정학회)
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Community Services Supporting Family Caregivers for the Elderly: Lessons from the Comparison between Korea and the United States

노인 돌봄 가족을 지원하는 지역사회 서비스: 한국과 미국의 비교를 통한 정책 제언

  • Kim, Sunghee (Division of Social Welfare and Consumer Science, Sunchon National University) ;
  • Woo, Hyeyoung (Department of Sociology, Portland State University)
  • 김성희 (순천대학교 사회복지학부) ;
  • 우혜영 (포틀랜드주립대학교 사회학과)
  • Received : 2012.09.25
  • Accepted : 2012.12.20
  • Published : 2013.06.30
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Abstract

The purpose of this study is to provide useful insights into community-level support services for family caregivers in Korea by comparing them with the services in the United States. Similar to most developed countries, life expectancy has led to rapid population aging in Korea over the last several decades. However, despite increased social needs of long-term care for the elderly, many elderly Koreans are still dependent on their family for the long-term care. Yet, existing support programs for family caregivers are very limited. As a result, family caregivers often suffer from a lack of financial resources and emotional support. In this study, we comprehensively review the extensive literature, including relevant studies and documents of community-level support services for family caregivers of the elderly at home in Korea and the United States. One of the most important differences is that compared to Korea, diverse services based on the law of NFCSP to support the family caregivers, such as counseling, organization of support group, and educating have been available in the United States since 2000. Additionally, the legal definition of family caregivers in the United State is broader than that in Korea, where family caregivers are limited to those who are related by blood or marriage. Therefore, more caregivers are eligible for support programs and benefit from the programs in the United States. The findings of the study suggest that policy makers in Korea should legislate for diverse and comprehensive services for family caregivers. Further, it is necessary to define legal terms for family caregivers more broadly to extend beneficiaries of the programs.

Keywords

References

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