Care of the Elderly with Dementia and the Need for Group Homes from Middle and Upper Class Families in Korea

Concerns about paid-facilities for the elderly with dementia from middle and upper class families have been discussed lately in Korea. Small-scale, home-like group homes for the elderly with dementia were developed in Sweden in the 1980, but they have not been effectively introduced in Korea where they remain a comparatively new concept. The group home, however, would provide a good alternative to Koreans who feel guilty when they have to leave their frail parents in large-scale facilities or hospitals instead of caring for them at home. The aim of this paper is, first, to define the care of the demented elderly who come from upper and middle class families in Korea and, secondly, to discuss the need for group homes to help care for them. A survey was done by questionnaire and was answered by 577 respondents who belonged to middle and upper class families living in Korea in December 2000. Methods of analysis were frequency, mean, and Chi-square. The results of this study were as follows: 1) the traditional notion that the eldest son should be burdened with the primary responsibility for a demented parent has weakened remarkably; 2) a small-scale long-term care facility was considered the most desirable living environment for the demented elderly; 3) the facilities families needed for professional hospitals for victims of dementia, senior citizen centers, large and small-scale long-term care facilities, day-care centers, and short-stay and service housing. The study also revealed that there was low awareness of the group home. The most preferred type of structure for group homes was a single-family detached house, and the most preferred management system was small-scale that could create home-like atmosphere. Additionally the respondents wanted group homes to consist of 6-8 residents with 2-4 persons per room. The results of this study strongly suggest that policy makers should encourage the development of smallscale group homes as an alternative form of housing for the elderly with dementia.